TIRUPPUR: Farmers benefiting from the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) plan to meet the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and press for the implementation of the pending Anamalaiaru-Nallaru water project.
They want the chief minister to discuss the Anamalaiaru-Nallaru project with the Kerala government and implement it quickly. The project envisages the construction of Anamalaiaru Dam and the Nallaru Dam by the state government in the Western Ghats as part of the PAP agreement with the Kerala government.
CM Stalin will visit Tiruppur district next week on a two-day trip. The Chief Minister is also set to unveil statues of four people, including former Chief Minister K Kamaraj, who were behind the PAP.
Medical K Paramasivam, Chairman of PAP Planning Committee, said, "We plan to meet the chief minister and present three important demands to him when he visits Tiruppur district. We will request the chief minister to discuss the Anamalaiaru-Nallar project with the Kerala government and implement it quickly.
We will also urge him to immediately start the PAP renovation project as the structures are broken and dilapidated at many places, causing water wastage. A DPR has already been prepared for this with a project value of about Rs 4,500 crore."
"Funds should be allocated to the water user's associations (WUA) to maintain distribution canals and water courses under them. This allocation was given three years ago. This enabled WUAs to maintain the canals. But right now it is not possible. We have decided to emphasise this to the chief minister. We have formally written to the district administration and WRD officials for this," the Chairman added.
A senior official of the WRD said, "The CM's secretary will take a decision on the PAP Planning Committee's request to meet the CM."
Neera N Periyasamy, a constant advocate of the Anamalaiaru-Nallaru project, said, "The PAP was established in 1958 as per an agreement between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Through this project, about 4.5 lakh acres of agricultural land in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts are getting irrigation facilities.
As per the agreement signed at that time, after the Kerala government built the Idamalayar dam, the TN government can implement the Anamalaiaru-Nallaru project. Though the Kerala government completed the project many years ago, the Anamalaiaru-Nallaru project has not yet been completed because of the negligence of our governments. If this project is completed, the water shortage in the PAP project can be completely resolved."
S Paramasivam, Tiruppur District President of Tamil Nadu Coconut Farmers Association, said, "Both the Anamalaiaru Dam and the Nallaru Dam are part of the PAP project. We will get an additional 9.75 tmc of water, which is going to Kerala, through these two dams."
"The two states are holding talks over the Anamalaiaru-Nallaru project," said WRD officials. Marauding bonnet macaques scare devotees arriving at hilltop temple near Sirumugai