The ‘kudi maramathu project’ of renovating the water bodies with the active participation of the farmers is progressing at a fast pace in Salem district.
A total of 48 works of rehabilitating the tanks and lakes have been taken up in the district at an outlay of ₹ 3.2 crore since the project was launched by the Chief Minister in March.
The State government launched the ‘kudi maramathi thittam’ in order to overcome the drought situation and the restoration and complete cleansing of all the water bodies in the State. The government in the first phase earmarked ₹ 100 crore for this project consisting of 1,159 activities across the State.
The project aimed at steps for more economic usage of water from all the water bodies available in the State, improved rainwater harvesting, creation of new water bodies, enhancing the management of the ground water resources and streamlining the prevailing system of water consumption and revamping water bodies in bad condition.
The highlight of the implementation of this scheme is the involvement of farmers, all members of the water users associations. Later the government, understanding the importance of this project, sanctioned additional ₹ 300 crore.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, V. Sampath, District Collector, said that 48 works have been launched in the district spread over in Mettur Dam Division and Sarabanga Basin Division, Namakkal. While 30 works are progressing at an outlay of ₹ 1.50 crore in Mettur Dam division, 18 works at a cost of ₹ 1.70 crore are progressing in Sarabanga division.
The completion of these works will immensely benefit the rural people and farming community, he added.
