Chennai completes six of 30 sponge parks planned

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has planned to build 30 new sponge parks but has only finished six of them so far. The parks, designed to help absorb and filter rainwater, aim to reduce flooding and recharge groundwater. The completion of the remaining 24 parks was delayed due to issues with contractors, the need to remove encroachments, and local opposition. A GCC official stated that work on the remaining parks will be finished before the upcoming monsoon season. The corporation's Commissioner recently held a meeting to speed up the construction process. Initially, 31 sponge parks were planned, but one project was dropped. The overall estimated cost of the sponge park project is about ₹7.90 lakh. These parks are planned across various zones in Chennai and are intended to be climate-resilient. Recently, the Tamil Nadu Finance Minister announced that seven more sponge parks will be developed with a budget of ₹88 crore. Concerns have been raised about the safety of children near the sponge parks. In one case, a mesh barrier was added after children tried to jump into an open pit. Officials are also taking steps to ensure that water in these parks drains properly to combat mosquito breeding. In terms of maintenance, some sponge parks built in 2023-14 are reported to be damaged and are set for reconstruction. The GCC is also working on a new contract for park maintenance, which has faced delays due to disagreements with contractors. The tender for maintenance is expected to be finalized soon.