The State government has cleared the inclusion of 16 more sub-basins of rivers at a revised cost of ₹649.55 crore under the World Bank-assisted Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation Project (TNIAMP-II).
Under phase-I, work is in progress on 18 sub-basins, for which a sum of about ₹744 crore has been set aside. Also, emergency rehabilitation of tank systems, affected during the 2015 floods, is nearing completion. An amount of ₹43.63 crore has been sanctioned.
TNIAMP-II, which is estimated to cost ₹2,962 crore totally, will bring 66 sub-basins under its fold. The aim of the project is to increase the coverage of ayacut and food production. Among the projects to be implemented are rehabilitation and modernisation of system tanks [which are being served by water releases from rivers], non-system or rain-fed tanks, anicuts and supply channels in the sub-basins.
Launched in 2017, the TNIAMP-II, a follow-up to the Integrated-Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Bodies Restoration Management Project, will go on till 2024.
Under the current phase, 16 sub-basins are going to be taken up which have ayacut of about 1.55 lakh hectares.
To enable the execution of work, detailed project reports are being prepared and the work will be complete by April next year for the World Bank’s review. Among the sub-basins being covered are Lower Coleroon, Thirumanimuthar, Pachyar, Chittar and Uppar.
Even though the inclusion of 16 sub-basins has been decided, the World Bank’s formal clearance came only in June. In the meantime, the current schedule of rates came into force, causing the revision of the cost for phase-II.
Ordinarily, the year-on-year rise in rates is of the order of 15-20%. The government issued an order on Tuesday, giving its nod for the fresh cost for phase-II of TNIAMP-II.
