A water expert said sustainable measures could be implemented cost-effectively than establishing desalination plants.
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Water resources experts have urged the Tamil Nadu government to review its announcement of a new 400 million litres per day (mld) capacity desalination plant at Minjur and prioritise sustainable and integrated water management measures.On Wednesday, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced establishment of a desalination plant at Minjur at a cost of ₹4,800 crore to cater to north Chennai, Avadi, Minjur, and Ponneri belt.The scheme is likely to be executed by Chennai Metrowater at the premises of the existing 100 mld Minjur desalination plant. Work is in progress to begin partial operations of the existing plant, which ceased operations in November 2024.However, water experts said Chennai needed sustainable solutions rather than cost-intensive desalination projects. B. Sakthivel, team leader and hydrologist who prepared the Water Security Plan for Chennai, said the plan had recommended improving the storage capacity of water bodies in Chennai and neighbouring districts, merging large water bodies to form reservoirs and recycling and reusing wastewater generated from Chennai and adjoining areas as part of an integrated water management strategy in Chennai basin.Projects could be developed to convert lands acquired for Parandur airport into a reservoir. Sustainable measures could be implemented cost-effectively than establishing desalination plants, he said.Members of the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department Senior Engineers’ Association also stressed the need to increase storage capacity of traditional water bodies in Chennai Metropolitan area. This could be an economically viable alternative to establishing desalination plants.K. Nagarajan, former special engineer and member of the association, said desalination projects could have environmental impacts and measures to mitigate them would add to the cost. The association has prepared a list of 507 tanks in various taluks that could be rejuvenated and linked to existing network. Published - September 02, 2026 07:10 pm IST
