Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Tamil Nadu Launches Rs 500 Crore Statewide Desilting Drive
Tamil Nadu is cleaning mud, sand, plants and garbage from thousands of canals, lakes and ponds.
The state plans to work on 10,185 canals and 809 water bodies.
The project will cost about Rs.
500 crore and should be finished before the October rains.
Clean canals can help rainwater move away from homes and farms instead of causing floods.
They can also help store more water for drinking and farming during dry months.
The work is expected to give jobs and wages to people in rural areas.
Chennai is separately planning a much larger project to improve water supplies and reduce flooding.
That proposal could create 20 tmc ft of extra water storage and is estimated to cost Rs.
22,004 crore.
Tamil Nadu plans to desilt 10,185 canals and rejuvenate 809 water bodies statewide at an estimated cost of Rs. 500 crore.
The work is being carried out under the VB-G RAM G rural employment scheme and is expected to finish before the northeast monsoon in October.
Officials say the project will create rural jobs, improve irrigation, raise groundwater levels, reduce flooding and increase water storage.
The government is also desilting the Adyar, Cooum and Kosasthalai rivers in Chennai to improve floodwater flow.
A separate Rs. 22,004 crore Chennai proposal would add 20 tmc ft of storage and combine water-supply expansion with flood mitigation.
- Who
- The Tamil Nadu government, led for this project by Water Resources Minister N. Anand, along with local bodies, residents, ministers, MLAs and NGOs.
- What
- A statewide programme to desilt 10,185 canals and rejuvenate 809 lakes and ponds, alongside larger Chennai water-supply and flood-mitigation plans.
- When
- The statewide work was launched this week and is expected to be completed before the northeast monsoon begins in October.
- Where
- Across Tamil Nadu, including rural areas and the Chennai region.
- Why
- To create rural employment, improve irrigation and groundwater recharge, increase water storage, reduce flooding and address Chennai’s water-supply deficit.
- Statewide project cost
- About Rs. 500 crore
- Canals targeted
- 10,185
- Water bodies targeted
- 809 lakes and ponds
- Deadline
- Before the northeast monsoon in October
- Chennai proposal cost
- Tentatively Rs. 22,004 crore
- Proposed additional storage
- 20 tmc ft
- Chennai water figures
- Existing listed reservoirs have a combined capacity of 13 tmc ft, compared with annual drinking and industrial demand of about 22 tmc ft; demand is projected to reach 32 tmc ft by 2035