Concerned over acute scarcity of drinking water in several cities, the government proposes to install a desalination plant, to begin with, near Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.
Presenting the Union Budget for 2004-05, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that more such plants would be installed along the Coromandel coast (east coast).
A desalination plant with a capacity of 300 million litres per day (MLD) is estimated to cost Rs 1,000 crore. However, this does not include costs for transmission pipelines and a captive power plant. It is proposed to implement the project through public-private partnership.
Observing that more than 75,000 habitations are yet to be provided adequate drinking water, he said the government intends to bring all drinking water schemes under the umbrella of the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission.
The Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme has been allocated Rs 2,610 crore in the current year and would focus on renewal of water sources and on serving uncovered and partially covered habitations.