TIRUCHY: While welcoming the state government's move to rejuvenate 5,000 minor irrigation tanks in rural areas across the state at a total cost of Rs 500 crore, a section of farmers have urged officials to execute the project by first clearing both supply and drain channels of the waterbodies to maximise water conservation.
The state government recently gave administrative and financial sanction for tank restoration project which involves desilting and deepening of the water spread areas, strengthening and consolidation of bunds, repairs or reconstruction, and desilting of supply channels, among others.
Urging officials to complete the process before the monsoon, Ayilai Sivasuriyan, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, said, "Unlike previous years, it should not be undertaken for the sake of it. Desilting will not be effective if both supply and drain channels are not cleared properly.
Without that, restoring a tank will be a waste of time and money." Though minor irrigation tanks in rural areas are maintained by the local bodies and the revenue department, the supply and drain channels come under the ambit of the Water Resources Department, said Swamimalai S Vimalnathan, secretary of Tamil Nadu Cauvery farmers' protection association.
"Before starting the process, every supply and drain channel should be measured according to the 1923 resurvey register, and all encroachments must be cleared to achieve the project's goals." he added. Vayalur N Rajendran, state treasurer of the farmer's wing of Tamil Maanila Congress, proposed that farmers and private parties should be permitted to desilt the tanks.
"Farmers can utilise the silt in their fields, while private parties such as brick kiln owners and builders, who are in need of mud, could also benefit. This approach can generate revenue for the state through a nominal fee," he said.