In a significant boost to Chennai’s water sustainability efforts, the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI), Besant Nagar, has submitted a proposal to restore 22 water bodies across the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limits under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. This is part of GCC’s broader efforts to collaborate with private and non-profit partners to improve the city’s resilience to flooding and water scarcity.
The restoration work will include deepening and widening of the ponds, strengthening bunds, improving storage capacity, and adding essential infrastructure like fencing and public amenities. These measures aim to reduce water stagnation during monsoons, improve groundwater recharge, and enhance the ecological balance in densely populated urban areas, apart from preventing water stagnation in residential areas and roads during the rainy season.
In total, GCC has identified 41 ponds for comprehensive restoration in the 2025–26 fiscal year, with an estimated budget of ₹119.12 crore. The plan includes restoring ponds in Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, and Tondiarpet. Notably, four ponds in the Tiruvottiyur zone and 28 in Manali are set for revamp, with works ranging from ₹27 lakh to ₹2.67 crore per pond.
In addition, work has already been initiated at five other ponds this year with on a budget of ₹25.25 crore, at Tiruvottiyur, Madhavaram, Tondiarpet, and Valasaravakkam zones.
At the Madras Race Course campus, Guindy, restoration and creation of new ponds have expanded the site’s water-holding capacity to over 3.9 million cubic feet. With this, an additional rainwater storage capacity of 8.07 million cubic feet is now being established to reduce flood vulnerability in surrounding neighbourhoods like Kotturpuram, Velachery, and Five Furlong Road.
GCC continues to actively seek CSR partnerships to support its citywide waterbody restoration plans and urges private organisations to join this vital urban ecological mission. For more information or to collaborate under CSR, reach out to the Greater Chennai Corporation.
