The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Environment Ministry has recommended the setting up of a 400 MLD desalination plant at Perur on East Coast Road, for CRZ clearance.
The decision was taken at the 190th meeting of the EAC on May 8. The EAC took note of a report submitted by a team after undertaking a site visit.
“The proposal was again taken up at the meeting and the recommendations and findings of the site visit were placed before the Committee. The Committee accepted the site visit report,” according to the minutes of the meeting.
₹3,912.16 cr. project
The 400 MLD plant, which is proposed to come up on the eastern side of East Coast Road, and is to meet the drinking water requirements of Chennai, will cost ₹3,912.16 crore.
The project site is located in CRZ- III and CRZ- IV as per the Coastal Zone Management Plan, the Committee said. The team that undertook the site visit, however, recommended that the 400 MLD plant be shifted further inland.“
The project proponent agreed and stated that the plant site will be raised 6.5 m above the last level affected by the 2004 tsunami,” the EAC noted.
Following deliberation of other conditions, and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) informing the Committee that the 150 MLD plant coming up at Nemmili and the 400MLD plant at Perur, located about 600 metres from each other, were imperative to meet the water requirements in Chennai.
Both were funded by different agencies, the EAC recommended the project for CRZ clearance.
The project should be tsunami-resistant and Metrowater must give an undertaking that it will bear the full cost of environmental damage and restitution that might arise due to the setting up of the plant.