Experts Urge TN To Review Rs 4,800-Crore Minjur Desalination Plant, Push For Storage

Water resources experts have urged the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider its decision to construct a new 400 million litres per day (mld) desalination plant at Minjur, calling instead for sustainable and integrated water management practices. The appeal follows an announcement by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to establish the facility at an estimated cost of ₹4,800 crore to supply water to north Chennai, Avadi, Minjur, and the Ponneri belt.

The proposed project is expected to be implemented by Chennai Metrowater on the premises of the existing 100 mld desalination facility in Minjur. The existing plant had stopped operations in November 2024, and work is currently in progress to resume partial operations at the site.

Water experts, however, maintained that the city requires sustainable conservation methods rather than cost-intensive desalination initiatives. B. Sakthivel, hydrologist and team leader who prepared the Water Security Plan for Chennai, noted that the plan recommended enhancing the water storage capacity of water bodies across Chennai and its neighbouring districts.

Sakthivel stated that an integrated water management strategy for the Chennai basin should involve merging large water bodies to build reservoirs, as well as recycling and reusing treated wastewater from Chennai and adjacent areas. He added that lands acquired for the Parandur airport could be converted into a reservoir, pointing out that such sustainable measures are significantly more cost-effective than constructing desalination units.

Members of the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department Senior Engineers’ Association similarly called for expanding the holding capacity of traditional water bodies in the Chennai Metropolitan area, highlighting it as an economically viable alternative to desalination infrastructure.

K. Nagarajan, a former special engineer and member of the association, warned that desalination projects carry environmental risks, noting that implementing measures to mitigate them would drive up overall expenses. He said the association has compiled an inventory of 507 tanks located across various taluks that can be rejuvenated and integrated into the existing regional supply network.