Chennai: Tambaram Corporation has proposed a ₹165-crore project to restore seven lakes to improve flood resilience, increase water storage and protect the waterbodies from encroachments and pollution.Madambakkam, Veeraraghavan, Nemilichery, Nanmangalam, Selaiyur, Peerkankaranai and Rajakilpakkam will be restored by the civic agency, which has at least 25 water bodies within 84.7 sq km. Of these, around 10 are currently maintained by the corporation.The project comes as Tambaram prepares for a jurisdictional expansion. Around 19 surrounding village panchayats, including Agaramthen, Medavakkam, Kovilambakkam, Mudichur and Perumbakkam, are expected to be merged with the corporation.
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This will increase its area to 172.34 sq km and push the population from around 10 lakh to more than 13 lakh. The number of waterbodies within the corporation limits will increase to at least 35.Officials said the restoration project is aimed at strengthening the city’s water ecosystem as urban development continues to put pressure on lakes through encroachments, sewage inflow and unplanned construction. A recent corporation survey also found around 2,000 hawkers occupying areas near waterbodies.Chief engineer (general) P V Srinivasan said: “The project would involve desilting lakes, removing encroachments and invasive weeds, strengthening and raising bunds, rebuilding surplus weirs and sluices, and restoring feeder channels and surplus drains to improve water flow. Sewage inflows will also be intercepted and diverted to treatment facilities.”The project would also include fencing, walking tracks, native tree plantation, bird habitats, floating wetlands, CCTV surveillance and dedicated maintenance infrastructure, he said. Stormwater drains entering the lakes would be redesigned to reduce flooding while improving groundwater recharge. Water-level sensors and regular monitoring systems would also be installed.Darwin Annadurai, founder of Eco Society of India, said the corporation allocated only about ₹17 crore to restore five lakes over the past five years. “They did not address the root cause of degradation. The first step should have been to stop sewage from entering lakes. If the corporation restored even five lakes every year, Tambaram would today have at least 25 functioning waterbodies acting as natural reservoirs,” he said.He added that the seven-lake project should adopt a “lake-to-lake” restoration approach to revive the entire ecosystem instead of treating each lake in isolation.Tambaram Corporation commissioner S Balachander said the civic body would obtain a no-objection certificate from the Water Resources Department before commencing the works.
