Cauvery restoration project likely to take off only after TN state Assembly election
CHENNAI: During the NDA’s election campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Maduranthakam, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami accused the state government of delaying the Nadanthaai Vaazhi Cauvery scheme, a river restoration project estimated at Rs 14,000 crore. He said the central government had already approved the project and blamed the DMK-led state government for failing to take steps to implement it.
However, a top official in the water resources department (WRD) told TNIE that it would not be possible to commence the work before the Assembly election. “The state government’s finance department is yet to accord the required approvals to proceed with the project. Moreover, the project involves coordination of nearly 12 departments, including WRD, water supply and drainage board, TNEB, revenue and others,” the official said.
Given these administrative hurdles, the official said the project is likely to be taken up only after the elections. “Considering the scale of the project and the number of departments involved, completing all formalities will take time,” he added.
Explaining the project details, another official said the National River Conservation Directorate had approved Rs 934 crore for the first phase. Funding will be shared between the centre and state in the ratio of 60:40. While the centre’s share will be Rs 560 crore, the state will contribute Rs 374 crore.
In the first phase, the project will cover the Cauvery from Mettur to Tiruchy, along with tributaries such as Thirumanimuthar, Sarabanga, Bhavani, Amaravathi and Noyyal, covering about 1,092 km. The remaining stretch of the Cauvery from Tiruchy to the sea mouth, covering 214km, will be taken up in the second phase.
K Raguraman (48), a farmer from Tiruvarur, told TNIE that the Cauvery river system is under stress due to growing industrialisation and urbanisation, which has reduced the availability of clean water. “Pollution threatens aquatic life, plants, human health and the river ecosystem,” he said, and referred to a September 2018 Central Pollution Control Board report which said several stretches of the Cauvery and its tributaries were highly polluted.
Under the scheme, the centre and state governments plan to set up sewage treatment plants, common effluent treatment plants for textile units and take up riverfront development works. Thousands of farmers in the delta have been waiting for the project for years, he stated.
KV Elankeeran, president of the Federation of Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, said farmers in tail-end districts such as Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai often cultivate only one crop season every year due to poor water flow. “If implemented, agricultural areas can be expanded,” he said.