Chennai: Madras High Court has adjourned to April 23, further hearing of a petition which sought a direction to the authorities to release 7 tmc feet of water from Bhavanisagar dam to the lands served by odd turn sluices in the lower Bhavani project channel for special wettings.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose posted to April 23, further hearing of the petition filed by Lower Bhavani Farmers’ Federation, to enable the government pleader T.N. Rajagopal to get further instructions.
Petitioner’s counsel C.S.K. Sathish submitted that the total extent of lands covered under LBP Channel irrigation system was 2.07 lakh acres.
For the past two years, no water has been supplied for the odd turn sluice lands.
The petitioner’s federation for the last two months consistently raising the demand with the authorities to release water to the lands covered under odd turn sluices.
The petitioner’s federation by its grievance petition dated December 29, 2017 had highlighted their piquant position and requested for release of 4 tmc feet of water to the starving 1,03,500 acres of land covered under odd turn sluices as special wettings.
Again, the petitioner’s federation has submitted a representation in this regard to the Erode district collector on January 30, 2018, and no positive action has been taken on it, he added. In its counter, the Tangedco submitted that on the basis of the guidelines and the current storage condition of 9.1 tmc feet in the Kundah Hydel Reservoir, it was considered that release of 50 Mcft of water from the combined storage of the Kundah reservoirs will be let out to the Bhavanisagar dam on daily basis after power generation.
