Tamil Nadu plans Rs 11K-cr project to improve Cauvery basin irrigation

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government on Thursday proposed to launch a Rs 11,420 crore project to improve the irrigation system in Cauvery river basin with the Central Water Commission (CWC) having already given its 'in-principle clearance' for the same.

"A preliminary project proposal on Improvements and Rehabilitation of Irrigation Systems in Cauvery basin for efficient water management was prepared for an amount of Rs 11,420 crore and in-principle clearance has been accorded by CWC," Finance Minister O Panneerselvam informed the Assembly.

The minister, who also holds the Public Works Department portfolio, said that the project would be aimed at improving and rehabilitating the systems in the Cauvery, Vennar and Noyyal sub-basins, among others.

The Cauvery river basin consists of 18 sub-basins and it is essential to modernize the systems, which are very old, the minister said.

Reiterating his government's commitment to ensuring that the Cauvery Management Board is constituted in the wake of the notification of the final award of the Cauvery Tribunal in the central gazette last year, he recalled Chief Minister J Jayalithaa's efforts in this regard.

The notification of the Cauvery Tribunal Award and the state government winning its case in Supreme Court against Kerala are 'historic achievements' of the Jayalithaa government, he said.

In May this year, the apex court allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the height of Mullaperiyar dam to 142ft from 136ft.

Kerala had earlier expressed apprehensions over the safety of the dam.