Completion Date of Tamil Nadu Irrigated Project Has Been Extended

The Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation Project (TNIAMP), has been extended for six months, allowing authorities to meet the main objectives of the project. Supported by the World Bank, the project’s previous date was June 2, but now it has been extended to December 2. In a G.O., the J Jayakanthan, Secretary, WRD, stated that the state had given administrative approval for Rs 2,962 crore for the TNIAMP in 2017 for seven years till 2024. In May 2021, the amount was revised to Rs 3,249 crore during a mid-term review.

Besides this, the G.O. said several districts in Tamil Nadu were severely affected by Cyclone Michaung in December 2023, in which irrigation structures built or repaired under the project were damaged. On a related note, on December 22, 2023, the World Bank suggested the use of the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) and approved Rs 449.59 crore to handle the damage.

G.O. asserted: “The Empowered Committee in Tamil Nadu approved the proposal to extend the project by a year till May 31, 2026, following which the state submitted a proposal and action plan to the centre’s Department of Economic Affairs, which forwarded the request to the World Bank. Based on the bank’s recommendation, the project has now been extended till December 2, 2025”

Apart from this, a senior WRD official said, “The chief objective of this project is to enhance productivity and climate resilience in irrigated agriculture, ensure better water management, and create more market opportunities for farmers and agro-entrepreneurs in selected sub-basins.”

The project is being conducted by the WRD in coordination with six different departments and three universities in 47 sub-basins over four phases, covering a total area of 4.69 lakh hectares. Furthermore, he said rehabilitation works in 2,473 irrigation tanks, 344 anicuts, rivers, and canals covering 4,879 km have been completed. Moreover, 78 artificial recharge wells have been built.