TNPCB rejects application by Coimbatore Corporation for construction of STP near Chinnavedampatti tank

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has rejected the application by Coimbatore Corporation for construction of a sewerage treatment plant (STP) near the Chinnavedampatti tank as the norms have not been complied with, farmers who have been opposing the project have learnt.

During May, 2025, the Water Resources Department had issued an order permitting the Corporation to construct a 9.95 MLD capacity STP subject to conditions.

Factoring in insufficient rainfall and lack of water flow into the tank, especially during dry periods, in recent years, the WRD, said in its order that the proposed initiative to recharge the tank using treated sewage water is a strategic and sustainable solution that can address water scarcity while elevating the tank’s ecological balance. According to the WRD, the water, post treatment, will be processed through a tertiary treatment plant and finally the treated water will be released into the Chinnavedampatti tank contributing to groundwater recharge.

The WRD’s assurance was that treated waste water will be free from pollutants, pathogens and excess nutrients improving the overall quality of groundwater and agricultural land in the surrounding areas.

The contention of the farmers opposing the project has been that the very purpose behind the formation of the 200-acre lake by acquiring land from farmers under the Land Acquisition Act during the 80s was to store freshwater accruing from rainfall from the western ghats through construction of a check dam at Kanuvai and formation of a 60-feet wide supply channel to a length of eight km.

According to them, the tank, situated near Saravanampatti was formed during the 80s covering approximately 200 acres, to serve as a reservoir for Coimbatore North area and to mitigate flood into the Sanganoor canal during the monsoon season. The tank, located in Ward 12, receives water through a feeder canal extending over 9.5 km, originating from Kanuvai and flowing through Thadagam, Mangarai, Pannimadai and Somayampalayam.

The farmers are entirely opposed to the project, apprehending contamination of groundwater. During the recent monthly meeting for redressal of farmers’ grievances, Vellakinar Kalisamy, president of Chinnavedampatti Eri Padukappu Vivasayigal Sangam, questioned the rationale behind the Corporation pursuing the project without the sanction of TNPCB.

The condition set forth by the WRD was that the project must be executed in compliance with the provisions of TNPCB and the Manual on Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Plant published in 2013 by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation.

“If there is any public objection to the STP and storing of treated sewage water in the tank, the permission will be cancelled without any prior notice,” one of the pre-conditions states.

Mr. Kalisamy had availed the utility of the IIPGCMS (Integrated and Inclusive Public Grievance CM Helpline Management System) for flagging the issue.

The TNPCB, it is learnt, has insisted on compliance with its 2008 norms, according to which the STP should be at least 250 metres away from any lake or pond, preferably in the downstream side of lake or pond, so that the sewage shall not reach the water bodies. A preliminary assessment of public/ nearby residents opinion neighbouring the location of STP site is essential, the TNPCB had emphasised.