Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani on Sunday met farmers as a part of the River Noyyal rejuvenation scheme that the State government is implementing at ₹ 230 crore.
A release from the district administration said Mr. Velumani, who met the farmers in the presence of Collector K. Rajamani, District Revenue Officer D. Ramaduraimurugan, PWD Executive Engineer Damodaran and others, said the government would spend ₹ 174 crore of the ₹ 230 crore to rejuvenate that part of the River that flows through the district.
The project would benefit farmers who cultivated around one lakh acre in Thondamuthur, Kinathukadavu, Singanallur, Sulur and a few other areas as the government had proposed construction of check dam across the Iruttupallam, Uripallam, Kallipallam, Thennamanallur and Thenkaraipallam channels that fed water to the River.
The government would also repair and construct surplus weir across the Neeli anaicut, Chithirai Chavadi anaicut, Coimbatore anaicut and Kurichi anaicut.
Also as a part of the work, the Minister said the government would dredge and concrete line channels, strengthen bund, repair shutters and construct approach roads.
This way, the government would repair 18 of the 23 surplus weirs under the project and take up the rest under kudimaramthu or NABARD or other schemes.
He said the efforts to rejuvenate River Noyyal was in keeping with the government’s vision to empower farmers by investing in agriculture infrastructure and added that Tamil Nadu was one of the states that made high budgetary allocation for agriculture.