Plea seeks better implementation of 58 canal scheme.

A public interest litigation petition was filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday seeking better implementation of the 58 village canal project and opening of the main shutter of the Vaigai dam to release water to 58 villages for irrigation.

The petitioner, Advocate R. Narayan Ram, said that the main purpose of the project, which was announced in 1996, was to provide water from Vaigai dam to 58 villages to solve scarcity.

The cost of the project now stood at ₹ 78 crore against the original estimate of ₹ 39 crore. With more than 90 % of the project completed, unnecessary expenditure should be avoided, said the petitioner.

The level of Vaigai dam was 71 feet and the main shutter was located at 38 feet from the bottom. . The project envisaged construction of a main canal from the right bank of the dam and a small dam at the end of the canal, with two other canals branching out from the small dam to carry water. The water would fill up ponds in the villages to cater to irrigation, said the petitioner.

As part of the project, an ogee-shaped weir, the spillway to the dam, would be placed at the 67th feet and once the dam filled up, it would be released. When the water level reached 71 feet, the spillway at 67 feet would be opened to release water from 67 feet to 71 feet.

The petitioner claimed that the project would be useful only if the Vaigai dam reached its full level and from 1996 to 2017it had reached its full capacity only thrice, making this project unimplementable. However, with the project nearing its completion, it would only be appropriate to place the spillway at a lower level, said the petitioner.

A division bench of Justices M. Venugopal and R.Tharani directed notice to thePrincipal Secretary, PWD, and PWD engineers in Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram to file their counter-affidavits on December 20.

THE HINDU