CHENNAI: With TN Green Climate Company (TNGCC) focusing on developing water storage facilities, farmers sought the government’s help to upgrade existing reservoirs, tanks, and small ponds across the state.
Speaking to TNIE, KV Elankeeran, president of Cauvery delta farmers’ federation, said in the recent TN Climate Summit 2022, bureaucrats had agreed that TN, which received 940mm rain annually, lacked adequate water storage. Nevertheless, TN’s failure to maintain existing waterbodies affected farming.
He said most small and large tanks never reached their full capacity even during the monsoon owing to a lack of maintenance. To increase storage, all waterbodies must be desilted annually. At the same time, encroachments on waterbodies remained a major issue.
S Srinivasan, another farmer, requested TN government to construct more check dams to control water velocity, conserve soil, and improve land. “This will control soil erosion, prevent floods and provide sufficient soil moisture during summer,” he said. He also suggested that TN build more pumping stations, along with pipelines and canals, to transport water during droughts.
A senior officer of Water Resources Department (WRD) told TNIE that during an Assembly session in 2021-22, CM MK Stalin announced that 1,000 check dams and barrages would be built over the next 10 years to recharge groundwater.
“We have already started constructing check dams on Cauvery delta and the southern region and submitted proposals to TN government for funds,” the officer said. He said lack of funds prevented the department from maintaining waterbodies. WRD has also submitted proposals to convert small tanks as drinking water reservoirs in Chennai.
