The ₹ 230-crore River Noyyal Rejuvenation Scheme will benefit farmers in over 36,304 acre.

An important highlight of the Scheme would be the automation of the operation of opening and closing sluice gates at the Chithirai Chavadi and Kuniamuthur anaicuts, said sources in the Public Works Department’s Water Resource Organisation (WRO).

At the touch of a button the WRO could open or close the gates at the two anaicuts. At present, it sent its lascars to manually open the gates.

The Chithirai Chavadi anaicut regulated flow of waters to the Pudukulam, Kolarampathi, Narasampathi, Krishnampathi, Selvampathi, Kumarasamy (Muthannan), Selva Chinthamani, Periyakulam and Valangulam tanks.

And, the Kuniamuthur anaicut fed Perur Periyakulam, Kuniamuthur Sengulam, Chinnakulam, Sottaiandikuttai and Ganga Narayanasamudram tanks.

Though there were 23 anaicuts in the Noyyal basin, the WRO had taken up 18 of those under the Scheme as it had repaired and restored the rest under the Kudimaramathu Scheme.

Likewise, the WRO had included to maintenance 22 of the 31 tanks in the basin – 17 in Coimabtore district and the rest in Tiruppur district. The 17 excluded the nine tanks that the Coimbatore Corporation had under its control.

As a part of the Scheme, the organisation would also regulate water flow in River Noyyal and modernise the Padithurai in Perur, the sources said and added that it had proposed to take up the Scheme in three packages - the first from the origin of River Noyyal to the 34th km (Kurichi Anaicut), the second from the 34th km to 72nd km (Semmandampalayam) and the third from the 72nd km to the point where it joined River Cauvery in Noyyal village in Karur district.

Once completed, the WRO would be able to regulate water flow as per farmers’ request to the ayacut and help recharge groundwater around the city.

The sources further said that the WRO had started the work by marking the River and tank boundaries using surveyors.