State to revive work on irrigation scheme

Work on dam across Siruvani river was stopped in 1989

Kerala proposed to revive work on a dam across the Siruvani river in Palakkad district to draw the water the State was eligible to take from the Bhavani basin under the Kaveri Tribunal award, Minister for Water Resources P.J. Joseph told the Assembly on Thursday.

He stated this in reply to a submission from Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala. He said a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister recently took the decision to build the dam across the Siruvani river for the Attappady Irrigation Scheme, which was conceived way back in the 1970s. The work was stopped in 1989 after spending around Rs.15 crore.

Mr. Joseph said Tamil Nadu was taking Siruvani waters for the drinking water needs of Coimbatore and Salem. He assured Tamil Nadu that it would continue to receive the full quantity of water it was now getting from the Siruvani. “There need be no concern on that point,” he said.

Families rehabilitated

The project would not displace any people since the land required for the reservoir was acquired in the 1970s itself and the families living in the area were rehabilitated.

Mr. Joseph said the State would initiate steps to get environmental clearance for the project, which would irrigate 4,800 hectares of arid land in Attappady, a rain-shadow region. He said the project would also supply drinking water to the tribal villages in Attappady.