More than 1,500 temple tanks all over Tamil Nadu will have enhanced rainwater harvesting facilities in a month’s time.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department on Wednesday embarked on this endeavour on a war footing, hoping to keep date with the monsoon, and in consonance with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s rainwater harvesting plan for 2014-15.
The department will either install or revive rainwater harvesting structures in the tanks listed in major temples. The exercise will also cover the temple-owned choultries and department offices.
It will be completed by June 30. According to officials, there are around 38,500 temples under the department. Of them, 1,586 important temples have 2,359 tanks, with some of the shrines having multiple tanks.
The department has chosen to implement the project in more than 1,500 tanks, sources in the department said.
The decision was taken after the Chief Minister reviewed the water supply situation in the State at a meeting held on May 23. At the meeting, the HR and CE Department noted that many temples had a huge potential for harvesting rainwater and that efforts could be made to construct suitable structures.
Field officials of the department were instructed to co-opt the hydrogeology wing of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board for technical support, the officials said.
Importantly, temple authorities were asked to ensure that inlet channels of all tanks were cleared and leakages plugged before the monsoon set in. They were also told to document the status of the tanks before and after improvement works, the officials said.
The department has 11 divisions, including Coimbatore that has 614 listed major temples, Tiruchi that has 582, Thanjavur 566 and Vellore 540.
The Joint Commissioners have been asked to conduct a review every Friday to ensure completion of the entire work by June 30, the sources said.
