Urban News

Chennai, July 21: While the taxpaying Chennaiites complain of short supply from drinking water, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is seriously considering the diversion of 28 MLD (million litres of water per day) from the Chembarambakkam reservoir to a private township coming up on the city outskirts, official sources said. As per the proposal, water would be pumped to the township, located 38km from the Chemabarambakkam water treatment plant on Oragadam-Singaperumal Koil road, via 600 mm pipelines. Copies of related documents that are available with this newspaper indicate that CMWSSB engineers, on receipt of the realtor’s application last year, prepared an outline proposal to the tune of Rs 48.87 crore for supplying water for his township. Recommending that Rs 60 per kilolitre could be charged from the realtor, metro water experts, in their note sent to the board on November 20, 2008, predicted annual revenue of Rs 60.48 crore to the CMWSSB from the deal.

Ironically, the same experts had rejected the proposal on November 18, 2008, arguing that the township fell outside the metropolitan area. The board supplies 70-90 litres of water per day per person in the city and outskirts, as against the prescribed 170 litres a day. The private deal involves a water volume that could meet the requirements of four lakh Chennaiites a day. While a senior official involved in the project admitted “pressure from above” to clear the proposal now, CMWSSB managing director Shiv Das Menon said he was not aware of the transaction.