Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday said that he had written to his counterpart in Andhra Pradesh requesting a discussion on the implementation of the Cauvery-Godavari river interlinking project.
“The interlinking of Cauvery and Godavari is my dream project and once implemented, the State will get approximately 200 tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water,” he said here.
Works for preparing the Detailed Project Report are progressing and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have come together to implement this project.
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“I spoke with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and requested an appointment to discuss the project. As a first step, two Ministers, D. Jayakumar and S.P. Velumani, have been sent to Andhra Pradesh today (Wednesday) to meet the Chief Minister and give my letter,” Mr. Palaniswami added.
He has also sought an appointment with the Telangana Chief Minister.
Once the project is implemented, water will be drawn from the Cauvery, between Mettur and Tiruchi, through lift irrigation for a distance of 50 km, for use in dry areas. Mr. Palaniswami said that the Centre has estimated the project cost at ₹64,000 crore.
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The CM laid the foundation stone for the ₹565-crore Sarbanga lift irrigation project on the banks of Mettupatti lake in Eruppalli panchayat, in the presence of Ministers and AIADMK legislators. He said that 100 dry lakes in the Sarbanga basin would be filled with surplus water from the Mettur dam and they would, in turn, improve groundwater levels in the area.
Mr. Palaniswami added that the Mettur surplus water scheme would be completed in 11 months. He appreciated government officers for their work, which had helped complete various development projects within the stipulated time.
Talking about the Kudimaramathu scheme, Mr. Palaniswami said that Opposition leader M.K.Stalin was making false allegations about irregularities in its implementation.