Pilloor III drinking water project: Govt. to assess social impact of land acquisition

Panel to hold talks with 998 land owners of the 120 acre that it proposed to acquire

About 30,000 cusecs water was released from the Bhavani Sagar Reservoir through the spillways into River Bhavani on Monday.

The work on ground to implement the Pilloor III drinking water project is likely to take another six months as the State government has decided to assess the social impact of land acquisition on the owners.

Sources familiar with the developments said a government constituted committee would hold talks with the 998 owners of the 120 acre that it proposed to acquire to assess what impact the acquisition would have.

The committee would then submit a report to the Government. Meanwhile, the Coimbatore District Collector would also issue the notification for acquiring the identified lands by calling for objections.

After hearing objections from the land owners on various aspects of the acquisition including the quantum of compensation, the Collector would issue the final notification but only after the social impact report was done.

The impact assessment, the issue of notification and call for objections and other attendant procedures would take at least six months, if not more, the sources said and added that only thereafter would the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board could start the work.

The Board is implementing the ₹ 964-crore project to improve the city’s water supply by drawing River Bhavani water at Murugaian Parisal Padithurai, near Mettupalayam. It had identified around 160 acres for the project and of those 120 acre are private land to construct raw water treatment plant, lay pipelines and build water tanks.

The project would help the city get 178 million litres a day in the initial years and 320 million litres a day by 2050.