Vellore Corporation Starts Drainage Connections for 71,000 Households

Vellore Corporation has started providing household drainage connections in areas covered under phases 2 and 3 of the town’s Underground Drainage (UGD) project.

The ₹1,000-crore project, proposed more than a decade ago, is being implemented in four phases under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2016-17.

Corporation officials said the commencement of household connections marked the implementation of an important component of the multi-crore project in Vellore town.

Around 71,000 households to receive connections

“The Corporation has started providing drainage connections to households in areas under phase 2 and 3 of the UGD project. Most of the areas will be covered under these two phases of the work,” A. Catherine Saranya, Commissioner, Vellore Corporation, told The Hindu.

Of the 1.41 lakh households in the town, around 71,000 drainage connections would be provided under phases 2 and 3, Corporation officials said.

The areas to be covered include Alamelumangapuram, Sathuvachari, Shenbakkam, Konavattam, Kaspa and Velapadi.

The project has been divided into four phases and includes around 750 km of sewer lines, 16 pumping and lifting stations and two large sewage treatment plants (STPs).

The household connections are intended to link homes to the new drainage network instead of allowing wastewater to flow into stormwater drains.

“The connections provided to households under the UGD project will prevent discharge of wastewater into stormwater drains. It will also help towards improvement of hygiene in the area,” said S. Padma, a resident.

Key stretches and treatment plants completed

Corporation officials said several difficult sections of the project had been completed.

These include 32 km on the service lane of the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), 16 railway crossing spots and 7 km of State Highway stretches.

Sewage treatment plants have been built at Muthu Mandapam near the new bus terminus and at Sarkar Thoppu near Katpadi.

The two plants have been built to handle at least 60.5 MLD.

The civic body has also built a 650-metre-long pipe-carrying bridge along the Palar river.

The bridge will carry household sewerage from 32 wards, mostly from Old Town areas, to the newly constructed STP near Katpadi.

It is being built at a height of 20 feet from the river bed to prevent inundation during the monsoon.

The new STP has a capacity of 50MLD.

Civic body links drainage network to flood prevention

Civic officials said the new drainage network would help prevent inundation in Vellore town during the monsoon.

They said wastewater from houses would now be discharged into the drainage network rather than into stormwater drains.

According to Corporation officials, stopping the illegal discharge of wastewater into stormwater drains would allow excess rainwater to flow freely through the drains and be discharged into the Palar river.

The civic body said each household connection would cost around ₹7,000 on average.

However, consumers will not be required to pay the deposit amount at one time.

The amount will be collected in instalments after being added to the property tax, Corporation officials said.

Published - October 10, 2026 04:28 am IST.

Source: The Hindu