14,000 water tanks in state to get codes to check encroachers

C Shivakumar
Chennai:

Encroachers will now have to think twice before illegally constructing
a building or a settlement on a water tank.

A State Water Resources Management Agency (SWaRMA) source said that a
total of 14,000 water tanks in and around Tamil Nadu have been
identified by Institute of Water Studies.

These water bodies have been given numeric coding so that it can’t be
encroached upon, the official said. He said the whole information
would soon be uploaded on the SWaRMA website. Each water tank would
have 27 column attributes. These would provide information on
location, administrative details, hydraulic details pertaining to the
tanks.

He said the survey by Institute of Water studies highlighted the
capabilities of each water tank besides the information was verified
by geological tools.

He said the study gains significance following an agreement with World
Bank that water bodies with numeric codes will be taken up for
renovation. “This database will help provide information on where each
water tank is situated and it could also be taken up for renovation,”
he said.

Sources also said it would help ensure water security of the state.
Interestingly, the details would also help in the knowing the water
availability in each tank following which the one would get an idea of
which crops could be grown in the area. “This will help provide a
scientific data to officials on framing the policy pertaining to crops
sown in the area,” the official said.