The district administration had decided to allow farmers to remove silt in rural tanks and lakes in order to make them supply more water for irrigation, said Collector T.G. Vinay.
In a press release issued here on Tuesday, he said that 199 tanks and lakes under the control of public works and rural development departments had been identified in the district for undertaking desilting work.
The farmers would be allowed to remove silt only from these waterbodies. Each farmer could lift 10 tractor loads or five lorry loads of silt. Digging would be allowed to a depth of only three feet. Heavy machinery and earthmovers should not be used to dig the bed of the waterbodies.
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The Collector said the farmers were permitted to remove the prescribed quantity of silt within three to seven days.
To obtain a permission letter, each farmer had to submit copies of patta, chittta and adangal records to the Sub-Collectors of Dindigul and Palani blocks. If they needed more quantity of silt, they could submit fresh applications to the officials concerned. This silt should not be used for commercial purpose, he said.