The Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka erupted again weeks ago, though its intensity has subsided after heavy rain. In the last 35-odd years, Tamil Nadu witnessed resistance even to projects for drawing water from one place to another, both intra-district and inter-district. Among them was a project for Vedaranyam, now part of Nagapattinam district and formerly of the composite Thanjavur. Located at the tail-end of the Cauvery delta, Vedaranyam is a chronic water-deficit area. It has been suffering from saline water ingress because of its proximity to the sea. In the mid-1980s, when the authorities proposed to supply water to the area by drawing from Pattukottai (also in Thanjavur district), strong opposition forced them to abandon the ₹16.5-crore project for the benefit of over four lakh persons in the Muthupet, Thiruthuraipoondi, Thalainayar and Vedaranyam panchayat unions. In fact, this project was formulated after several years of a detailed and exhaustive study.
Foundation laid
In April 1987, Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran laid the foundation for the project which progressed steadily for two-and-a-half years before coming to a halt. A report published by The Hindu on May 4, 1990, gave a vivid account of how the project was sought to be revived by Local Administration Minister K. Ponmudy (now Higher Education Minister). The proposal was meant for “tapping into just 0.3 per cent of the underground water in the deep aquifer and would in no way affect the upper layer of the water table, which is now being exploited by the hundreds of borewells, open wells, hand-pumps, etc., for cultivation of coconut, paddy and other crops.” But the mediation did not succeed. The report points out that “over ₹5 crore worth of PVC and asbestos pipes are exposed to the sun and rain for long time at many points in the workspots.”
It was left to the DMK government of 1996-2001, particularly Local Administration Minister Ko.Si. Mani, one of the key political figures of the delta, to revive the project. This time, a plan was drawn up to take water from the Coleroon near Tiruvaikavur, 8 km away from Kumbakonam, and convey it to Kodiyakadu near Vedaranyam. The project cost was revised to ₹133 crore, with the coverage increased. The project, which took off in January 2001, became operational in June 2004, with the capacity to provide about 44 million litres a day (MLD).
In the mid-1990s, the southern region of the State suffered the problem seen in the Cauvery delta. When the authorities were implementing a project to draw water from Karaikudi for supply to Tiruppathur, about 20 km away, the source was Sambai Uthu, a spring located along a major weak zone (fault) between Cuddalore and Sattankulam. Litigation arose. The Madras High Court, in November 1995, stayed the operation of the project formulated in 1987. Even at the stage of preparation, the Karaikudi municipality adopted a resolution against the project, contending that Sambai Uthu, its source of water for long, was not able to meet the full requirements of the locals. In June 1996, the High Court directed the government to review the project and said that if it decided to implement it, it had to safeguard the interests of Karaikudi people. Nearly 15 years later, the Tiruppathur town panchayat was covered under the Ramanathapuram Mega Drinking Water Project.
Extension dropped
When the AIADMK government, headed by Jayalalithaa, decided to implement the New Veeranam Project in 2001, Chennai had been going through a prolonged spell of water shortage. Yet, the tank ayacutdhars had approached the High Court, but in vain. At the time of launching the project which was estimated to cost ₹720 crore in February 2003, Jayalalithaa took on the opponents of the project, especially the Opposition parties, and asked them how Tamil Nadu could seek water from Karnataka when they considered the supply of Veeranam water to Chennai improper. Eventually, the project was completed in May 2004 for supply of 75 MLD. When the AIADMK government wanted to take up an extension scheme by drawing 150 MLD from the sub-surface flows of the Coleroon, sections of the farmers started an agitation in the Ariyalur-Perambalur belt. The matter reached the High Court. Though the court cleared the project, Jayalalithaa, in April 2005, announced the withdrawal of the extension.
Even as Chennai was struggling, during 2003-04, to come to terms with a water crisis, the AIADMK government, in January 2004, mooted a plan to draw about 565 million litres of water from the Madurantakam tank, 85 km from the city. Residents and farmers of the town and nearby areas opposed the move and formed a human chain. The government dropped the plan. Water conflicts, be they inter-State or intra-State or even intra-district, have always been intense.
