In a bid to bring back the age-old ‘eri system’ for groundwater recharge — by restoring water bodies and interconnecting them — the 100 Resilient Cities programme has drawn up proposals, in partnership with the Greater Chennai Corporation, to revamp the Kovalam-Muttukadu Basin and the Mambalam Canal.
The initiative is spearheaded by experts from the Dutch government and the Dutch special envoy for international water affairs. They have created a detailed plan put forward by both Dutch and Indian experts belonging to various fields of urban design, social engagement and water conservation.
In the first project called Rise Chennai, two locations, namely Kovalam-Muttukadu Basin and Mambalam Canal, have been chosen based on landscape, to recharge the aquifer to the best possible extent. Also, a feasibility report and a detailed project report will be submitted soon to the Chennai River Restoration Trust, which is the main point of communication to the government for this project.