PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry Government has reiterated the demand for interlinking Sankaraparani and South Pennaiyar rivers and also its connection to the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river link.
Puducherry's Minister of Public Works, K Lakshminarayanan, restated the demand during the 37th Annual General Meeting of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) Society chaired by Union Minister for Jal Shakthi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Underscoring the need to safeguard Puducherry's interests by ensuring an additional water quantum proportional to stakeholder states' shares in the project, he emphasised the significance of linking Varaha River (Sankaraparani River) and Ponnaiyar River within Puducherry.
He outlined the existence of 25 bed dams along river courses and 56 surface water bodies linked directly to rivers, storing an average of 46 million cubic metre (MCM), annually. This infrastructure benefits a command area of 27,212 hectares and a farming population of 2.5 lakhs. This request is in addition to the 7 Thousand Million Cubic feet Cauvery water allocation through the final award of the Cauvery Water Tribunal, he said.
The minister also urged NWDA to enhance the allocation to Puducherry to 75 MCM (2.75 TMC) through the Godavari-Cauvery river link proposal. Lakshminarayanan pointed out that the NWDA has recalibrated the transfer of water from Godavari to Cauvery, limiting it to around 4713 MCM (Modified) from the initial 7,000 MCM.
However, Puducherry, relying heavily on underground water sources for domestic and irrigation purposes, expressed apprehension over the allocated water share. Out of the revised quantum, Puducherry has been allotted a mere 62 MCM (2.2 TMC) for domestic and industrial use, neglecting irrigation requirements for agriculture, said Lakshminarayanan .
Highlighting the deteriorating quality of groundwater due to excessive extraction, Puducherry pleaded with the NWDA to reconsider the allotment, requesting a substantial increase to at least 75 MCM (2.75 TMC) for irrigation needs.