Chennai:As the expert committee has recommended that every critical river basin, agricultural tank and storm channel should be heavily desilted to accommodate sudden volume of floodwater, the government is speeding up the desilting and renovation scheme of about 11,000 canals and water bodies throughout the state to be completed before the monsoon.
The government has already launched a scheme to desilt the rivers Adyar, Cooum and Kosasthalai in Chennai to ensure free flow of floodwaters after heavy rains. The works to desilt 10,185 canals and 809 water bodies, at an estimated cost of Rs. 500 crore, will be carried out under the VB-G RAM G scheme coming under the rural development department.
The scheme has twin objectives of utilising the renamed rural employment guarantee scheme which did not yield fruits and ended up as an expenditure for the government. The planting of tree saplings under the scheme did not take off since the personnel were planting the saplings on roads and under electricity cables. The panchayat chiefs simply wanted to provide an account for the expenditure for the scheme and give wages to the people with an eye on elections.
Using the VB-G RAM G scheme for the desilting work will ensure providing jobs and wages to the rural people, besides rejuvenating the canals and water bodies which would avert floods and provide water during summer, besides raising the groundwater table.
The 10,185 canals include those bringing water to the water bodies from the catchment areas and carrying water from one water body to another, besides taking water to the agricultural lands. Usually, when canals are left without maintenance, they are encroached by people blocking the flow of water during the rains, leading to inundation of residential areas. The precious water which should flow into a water body is also wasted, resulting in water scarcity during summer.
The desilting of canals will bring out many of the canals which have nearly vanished. The 809 water bodies to be desilted and rejuvenated include large and small lakes and ponds. The scheme will be taken up throughout Tamil Nadu at the same time and completed before the beginning of the northeast monsoon season.
The plants in the canals and water bodies will be removed, besides the sand and garbage which have accumulated over them. The storage capacity of the lakes and ponds will go up and this will be used for the irrigation of agricultural lands and drinking water purpose.
During heavy rains, the agricultural lands are inundated, leading to crop damage, and farmers complain that several days of their hard work and money is wasted. The desilting of canals will also help in draining the water from the fields, saving the crops during heavy rains.
The scheme is aimed at providing long-term benefits for the rural areas, including preventing floods, storing water, raising the groundwater level and improving irrigation facilities for the farmers.
Proper coordination and speedy work by the people involved in the VB-G RAM G scheme is expected to ensure the success of the scheme which provides useful work for the villagers.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
