Complaints about ‘poor implementation’ of Kudimaramathu scheme across Madurai district were raised at the monthly farmers’ grievance meeting held at the Collectorate here on Friday.
Murugan, a farmer from a village near Sholavandan, said Thenkarai tank, which supplied water to agricultural lands near his area, had barely been desilted. “A set of people with political party affiliations usually end up taking up the contract for maintenance, repair or desilting of the waterbody. They do not even scrape the surface of the tank but claim that the tank is ready to store and supply water to lands nearby during season,” he said.
V. P. Murugan, another farmer from Chellampatti area, said Public Works Department, while inspecting the readiness of the tank, must not only check if karuvelam trees were removed but also analyse if the inlet and outlet channels had been cleaned. “Though we raise these issues, we never receive answers from the PWD,” he said.
Collector T. G. Vinay, who chaired his first farmers’ grievance meeting, said the officials would re-examine the tanks.
Farmers from Usilampatti discussed the need to release water through 58 Channel scheme for 33 tanks in the block. Manikandan, a farmer, said though ₹80 crore was being spent on the project, agriculturists in the area felt disappointed. “Everyone in the area is still dependent solely on rainfall and most tanks barely have any water. The PWD can claim that our areas have enough water because of rains, but that is not true,” he said.
This caused a clash among the farmers who had differing views on whether Usilampatti area should receive water under the rules laid while the scheme was formulated. “If farmers in Nilaiyur and Melur extension do not have enough water for their single crop areas, how can farmers from Usilampatti claim that the water is rightfully theirs?” asked a farmer.
Farmers also discussed the need for quick disbursal of crop loans and insurance money for areas affected by Cyclone Gaja.
The Collector received petitions from farmers at the end of the meeting.
