Tamil Nadu

Lately there have been some conversations about water sector and microfinance, about bringing in microfinance to address water issues like access to clean drinking water, household water distribution and supply, associated problems of sanitation like underground drainage, and utilities.

This paper describes the findings of a study that was conducted to validate the findings of earlier studies and observations that have been conducted in ancient texts in India that describe termite mounds as useful indicators for groundwater exploration.

Depending upon how you see it, in the geographical expanse of India a train journey could be anything that one would wish it to be ...

This research study, by Veena Srinivasan, addresses the challenge of supplying water to rapidly growing cities in South Asia, using evidence from the water-scarce city of Chennai. Chennai (formerly Madras) is a rapidly growing metropolis of over 6.5 million people, whose infrastructure has not kept pace with its growing demand for water. In the year 2003-2004, Chennai experienced a severe water crisis, the piped supply for the entire city was virtually shut down for a 12-month period. Consumers became dependent on private tanker suppliers trucking in untreated groundwater from peri-urban areas.

Chidambaram is the taluk headquarters, located at about 250 km south of Chennai on east coast road [ECR] in Cuddalore district of Tamilnadu. It is a coastal taluk having three panchayat unions, Keerapalayam, Melbhuvanagiri and Portonovo. Chidambaram is the most important pilgrim center of the country, and is blessed with the Lord Nataraja temple. The temple town is also known as Bhuloka Kailash and Lord Nataraja, a cosmic dancer, represent the ‘Aakash’ form which is one among the ‘Pancha Boothas’. 

Though this temple town is blessed with such historically important temple, the Nature has cursed Chidambaram area with brackish water, which is also one among the ‘Pancha Boothas’. The total aerial extent of this taluk is 649 square km and the most part of the taluk is confined between the rivers Vellar and Kollidam, which is a distributary of the river Cauvery. Some few lakhs years back the Kollidam river might have flown even north of Chidambaram town and might have receeded subsequently southwards to the present position. Due to this invasion, the entire area might have been changed as marshy lands and mangrove forests. The salinity of ground water may be attributable to the fluvio marine origin sediments, which might have been deposited during this paleo invasion by the river and due to the back water flow. Chidambaram is about 15 km west of sea shore and the mean sea level is 5.1 metres. Geologically this taluk is a sedimentary terrain and the eastern parts are covered by the quaternary unconsolidated formations of clay, black clay, soils, alluvium, silts, kankar and laterites of recent to sub recent age and the western parts by the tertiary formations of Mio-Pliocene age represented by litho units - sand stones, grits, clays with lignite seams and pebble beds.

This site includes some success stories from across Tamil Nadu, documented by the Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board. These include:

This paper by Manthan Adhyayan Kendra presented at The Third International Conference on Public Policy and Management, Indian

The Chennai Rain Centre, the first of its kind in the country, is a one-stop information and assistance center on rainwater harvesting.

The Environmental Information Centre & Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has prepared water quality monitoring maps that, at a glance, reflects the various water sources and their locations.

This policy note 2009-2010 includes the following chapters: