Coimbatore, Aug 12 (IANS) Farmers dependent on the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) have urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately release Rs 14.98 crore for dredging and restoring irrigation channels, warning that poorly maintained canals could result in substantial water losses amid a weak southwest monsoon.
Water Users Associations under the PAP have identified 229 canal restoration works across the irrigation network. The project irrigates nearly 3.80 lakh acres of farmland spread across Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts through an extensive network supplied mainly by the Thirumoorthy and Aliyar dams.
Under the Thirumoorthy system, around 1.90 lakh acres receive irrigation annually across two zones, with approximately 95,000 acres covered in each zone. This year, water is scheduled to be supplied to agricultural lands falling under Zones 2 and 3. The Aliyar system additionally provides irrigation to about 25,000 acres every year.
Farmers said annual dredging and removal of vegetation were essential to maintain the carrying capacity of the channels and ensure that water released from the reservoirs reaches tail-end agricultural areas without avoidable losses.
The PAP has 150 Water Users Associations — 134 under the Thirumoorthy Dam system and 16 under Aliyar. The associations say they do not have sufficient resources to undertake large-scale maintenance independently and therefore depend on government assistance.
Thirumoorthy Reservoir Project Committee chairman Medical K. Paramasivam said canal maintenance had earlier been undertaken through the Kudimaramathu scheme during the AIADMK government.
He alleged that funds were not provided for such works during the first four years of the previous DMK administration. Following repeated representations from farmers, Rs 10 crore was sanctioned last year for cleaning the channels.
The associations have now submitted proposals covering 229 works estimated at Rs 14.98 crore. Farmer representatives have also approached three ministers in the TVK government, including the ministers handling finance and water resources and the minister in charge of Tiruppur district, seeking early sanction.
They said assurances had been given that funds would be released, but the allocation was still awaited.
With the southwest monsoon failing to provide adequate rainfall, farmers fear that any delay in clearing the canals could reduce the effectiveness of water releases from the reservoirs.
A Water Resources Department official said the proposal had been forwarded to the Finance Department and was awaiting approval. Officials expect the allocation to be sanctioned shortly, following which canal restoration work can begin.
–IANS
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