Farmers in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts have renewed their demand for the long-pending Anamalaiyar and Nallar dam projects, urging the Tamil Nadu government to take constructive steps to complete them. They say the projects are crucial to stabilise irrigation under the Parambikulam–Aliyar Project (PAP) system.
The PAP scheme was designed to divert and store water from streams originating in the Western Ghats along the Tamil Nadu–Kerala border for irrigation and hydropower. Based on an agreement between the two states in 1961, works were completed in 1967. The project currently provides irrigation benefits to about 3.77 lakh acres in Coimbatore and Tiruppur.
Farmers say irrigation demand has expanded over time without matching infrastructure upgrades, creating stress in the command area. They claim that even the regularity of water turns has become uncertain, and argue that completing the pending Anamalaiyar and Nallar dams is a key solution.
The report notes that a 1958 agreement between Tamil Nadu and Kerala on sharing waters of the Periyar, Bharathapuzha and Chalakudy river systems allowed for periodic review every 30 years, but a review was not carried out in 1988. PAP planning was based on an expected inflow of 50.05 TMC, with a sharing arrangement of 30.5 TMC for Tamil Nadu and 19.55 TMC for Kerala.
According to the article, the agreement also indicated that after Kerala built the Idamalayar dam, a sub-agreement could enable Tamil Nadu to implement the Anamalaiyar dam. While Idamalayar works were completed and are in use, the Anamalaiyar and Nallar dams have not progressed, with Kerala said to be raising objections. Efforts during the AIADMK period, including a five-member committee, did not yield a breakthrough; later, secretary-level talks during the DMK period led to a proposal for technical sub-committees, but Kerala did not form one. Farmers now expect the new TVK government to revive negotiations and move the projects forward.
