CHENNAI: The PMK has urged the State government not to try to cheat people by announcing the construction of check-dams along the Cauvery river. In a release here on Monday, Dr S Ramadoss, party founder-leader, said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had announced that 62 check-dams would be constructed at the cost of `292 crores along with the Cauvery in order to prevent the water from running off into the sea. In fact, it is not a new project as it was announced several years ago, he commented. In an affidavit, the PWD said in the HC on June 9, 2014, that the department had planned to construct 61 check-dams and barrages on the Cauvery and its branch canals at `117 crores, Dr Ramadoss recalled.
The project was finalised even before 2013, he said, adding that so, it was not a new project at all as the present government tried to show. The PMK leader said, “The state would have stored a maximum of 30 tmc of water if the check- dams had been constructed when the project was announced. Furthermore, another 30 tmc would have been saved in various water bodies in the delta region by diverting the surplus water to branch canals. Besides, the cost of the project has also increased to `292 crores from `117 crores, he said, adding that the state government construct the check-dams at the earliest.