TN farmers welcome CM's push for full Godavari-Cauvery-Gundar interlinking
Southern Districts Farmers Association has welcomed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to execute the Godavari-Cauvery-Gundar river linking project in its entirety. The association said the move would secure a permanent water source for lakhs of acres of farmland in the southern districts, which currently face severe drought-like conditions.
R. Ram Pandian, a functionary of the association, recalled that the Chief Minister had written to the Prime Minister seeking direction to the Union Ministry of Jal Jeevan on the issue. The National Water Development Agency has planned to execute the project linking the Godavari, Pennar, Palar and Vellar rivers. However, Pandian noted that this project would terminate a few kilometres ahead of the Cauvery river, benefiting only parts of northern Tamil Nadu and leaving southern districts without a solution to their water scarcity.
The Chief Minister has insisted that the project should be implemented according to its earlier plan, which included interlinking the Cauvery, Vaigai and Gundar rivers to benefit the Gundar basin irrigation systems. According to Pandian, such an integrated approach would provide a permanent water source for the ayacut lands (irrigated areas) in Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi districts. “Otherwise, the water source for these districts will become out of reach for farmers. That the Chief Minister has urged the Prime Minister that the full benefit of the scheme should reach the farmers of Tamil Nadu is very heartening for the farmers,” he added.
The association highlighted that these districts are currently facing a severe drought-like situation. Reduced water availability has hit irrigation, drinking water supplies, and farmers’ livelihoods, including the needs of cattle. Pandian pointed out that utilising the 1,100 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water from the Godavari basin, which is currently draining wastefully into the sea, could meet the water requirements of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
He further explained that the water sources of 18 minor rivers flowing through Pudukottai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram, along with the seven distributaries of the Gundar river flowing from Madurai, would be augmented. This would provide ample drinking water for lakhs of people and expand the area under cultivation. The association has urged the Centre to consider Tamil Nadu’s demand and execute the project in totality to improve the state’s surface water resources.
The river-linking project is part of a larger national initiative to transfer surplus water from water-rich basins to water-deficit regions. While the central agency’s current plan focuses on linking the Godavari to the Pennar, Palar and Vellar, the state government’s stance is that the project must be extended to include the southern rivers as originally conceived. The debate underscores the complexities of inter-state river water sharing and the need for infrastructure that addresses regional imbalances in water availability.
Farmers in the southern districts view the Chief Minister’s intervention as a crucial step toward ensuring long-term water security. The association’s appeal to the Centre is expected to add pressure on both the Union and state governments to resolve the technical and political aspects of the project. At present, no official response from the Union Ministry of Jal Jeevan has been reported.
