Thiruppugazh Committee studying 30-year flood data of Chennai Metropolitan Area, says Corporation

Advisory Committee evaluates 30 years of Chennai flood data, inspects areas to identify mitigation measures & implement recommendations from interim report.

The Advisory Committee for Mitigation and Management of Flood Risk in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), led by former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) official V. Thiruppugazh, has begun evaluating the area’s flood data from the last 30 years.

According to official sources in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC): “The committee is examining the flood data and looking into mitigation measures that can be taken when heavy and unprecedented rainfall hits. It is also carrying out inspections areawise to identify the reason for the inundation of particular streets. The civic body is awaiting its feedback.”

The members recently began inspecting areas across the CMA to determine the extent the local bodies had implemented flood mitigation measures recommended in an interim report the committee had submitted in May 2022.

The committee has so far inspected Venus Colony, Alwarpet, Trustpuram Canal, K.K. Nagar, Mugalivakkam, and Manapakkam and southern areas, such as Pallikaranai, Velachery, Narayanapuram, Nanmangalam, and Okkiam Maduvu.

As per the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Plan 2023, based on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee, the State government had sanctioned ₹291.35 crore to the GCC and ₹82.15 crore to the municipal corporations of suburban areas near Chennai.