Plea to quash GO on water release from Parambikulam dam

Chennai: Alleging complete mismanagement of irrigation water released from the Thirumurthy dam, under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP), a writ petition filed in the Madras high court said a government order (GO) issued on September 10 with regard to PAP water release needed to be struck down as illegal.
Filed by A Shanmugasubdaram, a farmer of Pakkaikinaru near Udumalpet, the petition said the PAP project would irrigate a total of 3.77 lakh acres spread across Coimbatore and Tirupur districts.Water is released for two seasons every year, and as per rule the GO should be issued 'sufficiently in advance' and it should contain details such as the amount of water to be released, starting date and closing date of water release, number of turns in which water would be released and the gap between the turns.
Unless all these details are disclosed, farmers will not be able to plan and prepare for cultivation, he said, adding that the September 10 GO did not talk about the number of turns and gaps between the turns. Though it says 3,916 mcft water will be released for 34 days, in two turns of 17 days each, if properly utilised four wettings could be achieved, the petition said. The amount of water could be made available for 52 days, and not just 34 days, it said. For several years now the GOs had not been taking into account the actual cultivation area.
The mandatory Azimosh report, which means inspection of land and fields to record details of crops raised, trees and wells, had not been done to prepare proper water budgeting, the writ petition said. Calling it total mismanagement of water due to the lackadaisical approach of officials, the petitioner wanted the court to quash the GO and to direct officials to issue appropriate orders in accordance with statutory provisions.