Farmers in Western region are hopeful that the TVK Government will leverage its political ties with the Congress to engage the new Congress Government in Kerala for taking forward the Anamalayar-Nallar project that envisages diversion of up to 2.5 TMC water from West-flowing rivers into Thirumoorthy Dam.

The Movement for Anamalayar-Nallaru Water Project that had approached all the major parties to include the execution of the project in their election manifestoes, is hopeful that the TVK Government will prioritise the project that has been in limbo for decades.

The promise of political parties for initiation of steps for fructification of the project prior to the Lok Sabha polls remained only on paper.

Though construction of the Idamalayar Dam has been completed - a requirement under the PAP (Parambikulam Aliyar Project) agreement singed in 1958 - the Anamalayar and Nirar-Nallar projects could not be initiated, since there has been no response from Kerala to repeated requests from Tamil Nadu.

Kerala, the farmers complain, has not obtained the Completion Certificate for the Idamalayar Dam, which is a necessity for starting the works on the Anamalayar and Nirar-Nallar projects.

The new project envisaging digging of new contour canals would be able to channel water from the Parambikulam Dam to Thirumoorthy Dam in a much shorter duration, and pave the way for increasing the cultivable area substantially in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts.

At present, the ayacut of 3.77 lakh acres wetted by 126-km PAP Main Canal is divided into four zones and water running through the entire length is supplied from Thirumurthy Dam on rotation basis.

At times of heavy rainfall, surplus water to the extent of 8.5 tmc, is getting drained into Arabian Sea. Water from Parambikulam Dam reaches Thirumoorthy Dam through a circuitous 50-km contour tunnel, with a capacity of less than 1,000 cusecs. It takes 20 days for the Thirmoorthy Dam to get filled.

According to officials, inter-State talks have to be held at the levels of technical sub-committees, secretaries and Ministers before formulation of the plan for the project.

Farmers are learnt to have urged the Water Resources Department to take up discussion on the project at the highest level.