T.N. accords sanction for Phase 2 of Grand Anicut Canal renovation project

Tamil Nadu government approves ₹447 crore project to renovate Grand Anicut Canal system for improved irrigation efficiency.

The Tamil Nadu government has accorded administrative sanction for the second phase of ‘extension, renovation and modernisation’ of the Grand Anicut (GA) Canal system in the Cauvery delta at an estimated cost of ₹447 crore.

In a government order (G.O.) issued on March 15, 2024, prior to the release of the notification for the Lok Sabha election, Sandeep Saxena, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources Department (WRD), accorded sanction to execute the next phase of the project in six packages to complete renovation works on the remaining portion of about 57 km of the main canal.

The canal, built during the British era, serves as a source of irrigation for about 2.25 lakh acres in Budalur, Orathanadu, Pattukottai and Peravurani areas in Thanjavur district and parts of Pudukottai district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had virtually laid the foundation stone for the project from Chennai in February 2021. Its first phase is being executed in five packages, covering a length of about 92 km of the GA canal, at a cost of about ₹1,037 crore.

According to the G.O., the works executed under the five packages were almost complete and it was essential that the remaining portion of the canal was renovated to ensure that water for irrigation reached the tail-end areas. The entire GA canal would be rejuvenated by implementing the second phase, it added.

Sources in the WRD indicated that two of the five packages were already completed and the remaining works were nearing completion. The tender for the second phase was also called before the election notification was issued, they added.

Once the renovation of the main canal was complete, a separate proposal for rehabilitation of the major branch canals and distributaries would be drawn up in consultation with Collectors of Thanjavur and Pudukottai and submitted to the government, the G.O. further said. Modernisation involves providing concrete bed lining, and renovation of regulators and other irrigation infrastructure, among others.