With Tamil Nadu failing to respond to "several letters" sent by the State and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

With Tamil Nadu government failing to respond to “several letters” sent by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Kerala government regarding the latter’s proposal to build a gravity dam across Siruvani river, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects has recommended grant of standard Terms of Reference for the project.

The proposal to build the gravity dam — called Attapady Valley Irrigation Project — was discussed by the EAC at a meeting in March this year.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects, which has recommended grant of standard Terms of Reference (ToR) for the proposal to build a gravity dam across Siruvani river, had ealier directed the project proponent — the Water Resources Department (WRD) of Kerala Government — to obtain comments from Tamil Nadu. This was done as the proposed reservoir falls within the radius of 5 km from the interstate boundary of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Accordingly, the WRD additional chief secretary wrote to the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department secretary on May 4. No reply was received from the State of Tamil Nadu till August 11 and 12 when the EAC meeting was held.

Taking note of ‘no response’ from the Tamil Nadu government “despite several letters sent by the Government of Kerala and MoEF”, the EAC recommended grant of standard ToR with three additional conditions which include resettlement and rehabilitation plan for tribals, baseline study of the three seasons and inventorisation of human resources available along the project area.

The Kerala Government’s argument is that there are no major or medium retaining structures in the command area of the project. Most of the irrigation facilities are privately owned lift irrigation systems which are confined to small patches, and the farmers, mainly tribals, relied mainly on rain-fed agriculture.

Long-pending project

In fact, the project was conceived in the 1970s and was dropped following opposition from the Tamil Nadu Government. It was given a new lease of life only after the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s final order was issued.

As two villages — Sholayur and Agali — benefitting from the project came under the eco-sensitive area of the Western Ghats via an MoEF notification in 2013, the project fell under Category A (multipurpose irrigation) and required MoEF clearance. “In 2002, the Kerala Government tried to divert water from Bhavani river at a place called Mukkali, but there was strong opposition from farmers and Tamil Nadu government and the plan was dropped,” recalls K. Kalidas, president of Osai, an environmental NGO based in Coimbatore.

Deficit basin

Meanwhile, PWD officials here said that the Bhavani river basin has turned deficit in the recent years. Water should have been released for irrigation for the benefit of farmers relying on the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) area on August 15.

In fact, farmers in Chennimalai staged a protest on August 15 wearing black badges over denial of water for the LBP command area. Last year also, it was not released on time, officials said.

PWD officials estimate that about 78 tmc was available in the basin and expect the Attapady project to cut down the availability of water by eight per cent.

While Kerala was entitled to 6 tmc as per the Cauvery tribunal’s final award, officials here are apprehensive that the new dam, which is likely to have three fillings every year, could help the neighbouring State store more than its entitlement.

Distress years

While 6 TMC should not be a problem during good monsoon years, it could become an issue during distress years when the upper riparian States have an advantage, officials point out.

Farmers in the Bhavani river basin might have to think ahead and adopt new irrigation techniques, minimising water usage and maximising yield, PWD officials note.