The Water Resources Department (WRD) will prepare a feasibility report on developing the Madras Race Course campus, Guindy, as a water body to store floodwater and mitigate inundation in Velachery and surrounding areas.
The move comes in the wake of a directive by the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which is hearing a case concerning Velachery lake. With slim prospects of restoring the Velachery lake to its original storage capacity, the department is exploring alternative solutions.
The State government had reclaimed the 118-acre land at Guindy and handed it over to the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops to create an eco park.
Following the NGT directive seeking a report on prospects of transforming the land into a water body, the department is examining the possibility of developing the sprawling space into a lake, which can store a minimum of 30 million cubic feet (mcft) of water.
Sources in the WRD noted the department would examine the feasibility of creating a water body in Guindy and assess its impact on flood mitigation. The storage capacity of Velachery lake has shrunk from nearly 21 mcft to a mere 4.35 mcft over the decades. The restoration efforts, including desilting, would help increase the present storage by about 50%.
Residents of Velachery urged that a part of flood mitigation measures must be initiated without delay to help them cope with flooding. Geetha Ganesh, secretary, AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association, Velachery West, said “Water from the lake floods our area during heavy rains. The bund on the southern side of the lake must be strengthened.”
Members of TANSI Nagar Welfare Association pointed out the Madras High Court order related to encroachment removal from Velachery lake was yet to be completed. M. Balakrishnan, the association’s secretary said several streets in and around TANSI Nagar remain inundated for at least four days during monsoon. “We often endure stagnation of sewage mixed rainwater. The department must desilt the macro channel in Taramani Link Road to reduce flooding this year,” he said.
Officials of the WRD said nearly 962 encroachments have been identified so far. The department will extend technical guidance for the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority’s Lake restoration project, which is expected to begin later this year.
Meanwhile, sources in Horticulture Department said the department is set to float a tender to rope in consultant to establish an eco-park in Guindy.
Published – August 21, 2025 12:41 am IST
