Desalination units soon on Coromandel

The Centre has decided to set up desalination plants along the Coromandel coast starting from Chennai, in keeping with National Common Minimum Programme.

With lack of drinking water a major issue in the eastern coastal region, the plants will benefit coastal-urban towns within a distance of 10 km from the shore along the Coromandel coast. Apart from Tamil Nadu, the scheme will benefit Andhra Pradesh and Orissa as well. While the project cost is around Rs 1,000 crore, the project requirement in the 10th Plan period has been quoted as Rs 600 crore.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had announced in his Budget speech that Chennai and other cities in the coastal area would get desalination plants.