Coimbatore Corporation drops Sanganoor Canal revamp over high cost

The Coimbatore Corporation has dropped plans to extend the Sanganoor Canal rejuvenation project, citing high cost of removing encroachments and relocating affected families. As many as 1,700 encroachments involving families living along the canal have been identified.

The 11-km canal runs from Kanuvai to Trichy Road. The rejuvenation project, taken up for the Mettupalayam Road–Trichy Road stretch, was divided into four packages, with the first covering about 2.5 km from Mettupalayam Road to the Rathinapuri bridge. The remaining three packages cover the stretches from the Rathinapuri bridge to Sathyamangalam Road, Sathyamangalam Road to Avinashi Road, and Avinashi Road to Trichy Road.

The project envisaged restoring the canal to its full width, removing encroachments and forming roads along both banks. The first package, estimated at ₹49 crore, was taken up in 2021. Retaining walls have been constructed and road works completed along about 2 km.

The Corporation had subsequently prepared tentative detailed project reports for the remaining three packages, estimated at ₹294 crore, and submitted them to the Directorate of Municipal Administration. Earlier this year, it also proposed extending the rejuvenation to a 6-km stretch between Kanuvai and Mettupalayam Road, for which surveys were initiated and a DPR was proposed.

However, the scale of encroachment clearance and the expenditure involved in providing alternative housing have made it difficult for the Corporation to proceed with the additional stretches.

Corporation Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja said even a few portions of the first package remained incomplete as alternative houses had not been provided to families living along the canal banks.

“Only a few portions remain pending in the first phase. The Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board is yet to provide houses for families living along the banks. In this situation, taking up the other three packages is not feasible,” he said.