The Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned over Rs 115 crore for two projects under the Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Bodies Restoration and Management programme to modernise irrigation infrastructure in major sub-basins.
The projects will benefit farmers in Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur and Tiruvannamalai districts where irrigation infrastructure covering 1.36 lakh acres of agriculture land will be modernised.
In a statement in the Assembly, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, said that as part of the IAMWARM programme, the Government has sanctioned Rs 31.19 crore for modernising irrigation infrastructure in Adyar sub-basins, in parts of Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur. This would cover the system and non-system tanks and irrigation canals. This will benefit over 45,597 acres of agriculture land in Chinglepet, Tambaram, and Sriperumbudur in Kanchipuram District and Thiruvallur and Poonamallee.
As another component of IAMWARM, the Government has sanctioned Rs 84.88 crore covering the Cheyyar-Killiyar sub-basins to benefit over 91,081 acres of agriculture land. Water bodies, irrigation channels and dams in these sub-basins will be modernised, she said.
These projects are a part of the Rs 2,547-crore World Bank funded project to benefit over 15.24 lakh acres of agriculture land in over 60 sub-basins. The project initiated during the previous AIADMK regime will modernise irrigation infrastructure including 4,848 water bodies, 668 dams and over 7,893 km of irrigation channels to revamp tank irrigation in the State.