CHENNAI: The CPI-affiliated Tamil Nadu Farmers Association has demanded the state to implement Nadanthai Vaazhi Cauvery project, which aims to rejuvenate hundreds of waterbodies linked to the Cauvery river and its tributaries across the state in consultation with the environmentalists and farmers associations.
“As a result of the ongoing efforts of the present state government, the Central Water Resources Commission has approved the project. The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister has requested the Union government for financial assistance for the first phase of the project worth Rs 3,090 crore. The project estimate announced in 2019 is Rs 10,700 crore. In 2021, it will rise to Rs 11,750 crore. Currently, it is estimated to rise further,” the association state general secretary BS Masilamani said in a statement.
In the first phase, the project would be executed from Mettur to Tiruchy and upper Tiruchy watercourses. The second phase to strengthen the watercourses from Tiruchy to the estuary. The state government should take all steps to execute it as per the project objective, he said.
To achieve the objective, a committee comprising environmentalists and farmers association representatives should be formed and the project should be executed taking into account all their views, he demanded.