Farmers have expressed dissatisfaction over the Tamil Nadu budget allocating only Rs 150 crore for the Cauvery–Vaigai–Gundar river-linking project, which has been estimated at Rs 6,941 crore.
The plan proposes a 262-km canal to carry surplus water from the Cauvery in Tiruchirappalli through the South Vellar, Vaigai and Kridhumal rivers up to Gundar, benefiting districts including Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi. The project was designed to be implemented in three phases.
Under the phased plan, the first stretch runs 118.5 km from the Mayanur barrage on the Cauvery in Karur district to the South Vellar in Pudukkottai district. The second phase covers 109 km from South Vellar to the Vaigai, and the third phase spans 34 km from the Vaigai to Gundar via the Kridhumal river. The project was inaugurated in January 2021 by then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
For the first phase, Rs 700 crore was earlier allotted against the requirement of Rs 6,941 crore, and tenders worth Rs 331 crore were issued to dig 11 km of canal, after which work began. Farmers said further progress stalled due to lack of subsequent funding, while land acquisition for phases two and three has been moving slowly.
The Cauvery–Vaigai–Kridhumal–Gundar irrigation farmers’ federation said the latest Rs 150 crore allocation is disappointing and insufficient even to excavate 5 km of canal. They warned that at this pace the project could take decades, and urged Chief Minister Vijay to allocate at least Rs 2,000 crore.
