Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani on Friday participated in the groundbreaking ceremony to kickstart the ₹ 230 crore River Noyyal Rejuvenation Project.
A district administration release quoting Mr. Velumani said Coimbatore would get ₹ 174 crore of the ₹ 230 crore to rejuvenate the 72km stretch of the River. Tiruppur and Erode districts would get the rest.
The administration would use the money to repair, re-construct and line with concrete the subsystems of the 18 of the 21 anicuts. The subsystem included 22 tanks, their inlet channels, sluices at the mouth of the inlet channels, sand vents at the anicuts and shutters used for letting water to agriculture lands, the release said and added that it would utilise the money not for the entire subsystem but only at places that needed those, though.
Also as part of the work, the administration would create new check dams, dredge channels, tanks and the River and remove bushes.
The administration would also work with local bodies to ensure that domestic and industrial sewage did not enter the River Noyyal system.
And, to oversee the work, the administration would form a committee involving officials from the Public Works Department’s Water Resource Organisation, Revenue Department, local bodies, farmers’ associations’ leaders and members of non-governmental organisations.
The release also said that the Tiruppur and Erode, which with Coimbatore, formed the Kongu belt would gain from the River Noyyal Rejuvenation Project as the groundwater table would increase and also the quality of water.
Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly V. Jayaraman, Collector K. Rajamani, members of the Legislative Assembly and officials were present at the inauguration.