The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa inaugurated drinking water schemes worth at Rs.546.61 crores which will benefit over 15.2 lakh households in areas like Alandur, Ambattur, Tiruvottiyur and Maduravoyal, which will face acute drinking water problems on every summer. Water for these areas will be sourced from the city’s main reservoirs – Red Hills, Chembarambakkam, Cholavaram and Poondi and the pipelines have been connected to the water distribution grid.
Among the multi-crore schemes sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Ambattur received the highest funds of Rs.267.08 crores. This includes allocation for laying pipelines for over 500 kms and setting up 34 tanks. This will benefit over 49,000 households. Southern neighborhoods like Alandur have been dependent mostly on ground water, since underground pipelines were laid only recently, under the World Bank-assisted project. The neighborhoods were to get Palar water, but that too has been erratic.