A storm water drain project in Old Mahabalipuram Road in Chennai which was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is now in limbo due to corruption allegations and delays.
Even after five months have passed after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched the ₹666-crore OMR storm water drain project, not a single brick has been laid. The local residents laments that project has stalled due to delays by officials, alongside allegations of corruption and favoritism within the administration.
Although tenders for the 122-km network were finalized in January 2024, the project was delayed after the Chennai Contractors Association raised concerns in February about irregularities and favoritism in the tendering process. As a result, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) dropped a 70-crore component from the project, and Chief Minister Stalin inaugurated the remaining portion, valued at 630 crore, on 12 August.
Sources indicated that several GCC officials in the storm water drain department were questioned by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in March and April of the previous year, regarding the premature finalization of tenders before completing the required technical and financial evaluations. Despite this, neither the DVAC nor KfW (the funding agency) halted the project, though senior GCC officials remained hesitant to give the green light for the project to proceed.
S. Bhaskaran, Superintending Engineer at GCC’s Storm Water Drain Department, attributed the delay to contractors still needing to secure land for RMC batch mix concrete plants essential for construction. He explained, “Each plant requires about an acre of land, and contractors need time to mobilize the infrastructure for a project of this scale. They are also surveying the project’s length, potential disposal points, and any obstacles in the construction path. We issued work orders last week, and construction is expected to begin by February.”
Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of the anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam, criticized the project’s delayed progress, questioning how the Chief Minister could have launched a project without work orders being issued. “When the Chief Minister inaugurates a project, work should have already started. This delay, coupled with a lack of transparency regarding the alleged corruption, misleads the public,” he said.
Residents of Old Mamallapuram Road (OMR), numbering around 4 lakh, are especially affected, as vital links in areas such as OMR, ECR, Perungudi, Pallikaranai, and a drain connecting Perumbakkam to the Buckingham Canal remain incomplete. Previously, GCC had also dropped an SWD component along the ECR in the first phase of the project, which involved laying drains along the beach. Many residents protested, arguing that water did not stagnate there and that the drains would obstruct water percolation. Once completed, the 122-km storm water drain network will form part of the 283-km long system in the Kovalam basin, including the first two phases of the 600-crore KfW-funded project.
(With Inputs From TOI)
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