Soon after its poll débâcle in Tamil Nadu, the BJP State unit, quoting Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, tweeted: “My first job would be to link Godavari and Krishna and this (will) bring water to Tamil Nadu.”
“This is what BJP is all about. Even though you reject #TNRejectsBJP, they will do their duty” – the tweet further said, apparently to tell the people here that the BJP-led Central government cared for them.
In fact, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, in the run-up to the elections, repeatedly and confidently said the Centre would complete the Godavari–Gundar scheme benefiting Tamil Nadu. However, even linking of waters within the State has been mired in delays.
As per the feasibility reports prepared by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) for interlinking of Mahanadhi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Palar-Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar rivers, the State is expected to get 214 tmcft of water.
In the 14 meetings of the special committee constituted for the purpose by the Supreme Court, the State has submitted alternative proposals and suggestions for early implementation of the scheme, officials said admitting that it could take years as it requires more studies and involves various States.
While it will be sometime before some action is seen on the ground on this grand river-linking project, two proposals for linking of rivers within the State launched by the DMK government over a decade ago are not even half-completed. The Cauvery-Agniyar-South Vellar-Manimuthar-Vaigai-Gundar link canal scheme is part of the link envisaged by the NWDA.
In the first phase, the government conceived the Kattalai Barrage across the Cauvery near Mayanur in 2008 to divert surplus watersm which was completed in 2014. In the second phase, it proposes a new canal to connect all these rivers to divert the flood waters of the Cauvery river for irrigation downstream.
PWD officials said the concept note had been sent to the government for approval of the proposed Cauvery-Vaigai linking project. “Next stage is finalising the DPR, envisaging an expenditure of about ₹7,700 crore,” a senior official said. The scheme to divert surplus water from the Cauvery, fed by Mettur dam, is feasible only till the South Vellar river in Pudukottai district, officials said.
Vital link
The PWD officials are of the view that the Godavari-Cauvery linking scheme is key to extending utility of the project till the Vaigai and the Gundar rivers for expanding irrigation in Madurai, Karaikudi, Sivaganga, Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram.
Meanwhile, the government has recently woken up to the need for linking of Tamirabarani- Karumeniyar-Nambiyar rivers by appointing special tahsildars for land acquisition purposes, sources said. The project was to create a new flood carrier canal to utilise 2,765 mcft of surplus water benefiting 33,298.07 acres in Tirunelveli district and 23,610.73 acre in Thoothukudi district.
While the first two stages are near complete, the next two are yet to start, say PWD officials in Tirunelveli. The State has sought nearly ₹900 crore from the Centre to complete the scheme.
(Additional reporting by B. Aravind Kumar in Chennai)
