Chennai:
With low water levels at Mettur dam, which caters to the delta farmers, and Karnataka not releasing Tamil Nadu's due share of water for the month of June, the government today announced increasing the three-phase power supply for motor pumps in delta region to take up 'kuruvai' crop.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa convened a review meeting with top officials, including Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi, TNEB chairman and others in Chennai and announced increasing the duration from nine to twelve hours.
She announced allocating a special assistance of Rs 125 crore to TNEB for purchasing power from outside market besides clearing Rs 2000 crore for the state-run enterprise as part of its subsidy dues for the year.
"Starting June 17, delta districts of Tanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Nagapattinam, Kulithalai, Musiri and Lalgudi taluks in Tiruchirappally and Chidambaram and Kattumnnarkoil in Cuddalore will be supplied with 12 hours of electricity for agriculture usage," she said in an official statement in Chennai.
Earlier, three-phase power was supplied for nine hours- six during day time and three in the night-- she said.
According to the new arrangement three-phase power supply will be supplied for eight hours during the day and four hours in the night, she added.
"As on date, the storage capacity at Mettur Dam is only 41.11 tmcft (as against the full capacity of 120 tmcft) and therefore there is no possibility of releasing water from the dam," she said, adding, her today's announcement would allow paddy kuruvai (short-term) crop on over 1.5 lakh acres though it was taken up on 3.45 lakh acres last year.
Water from Mettur Dam was scheduled to be released on June 12.
Her announcement will help 80,000 pump-sets in the areas to draw ground water for crop-irrigation, she said.
Karnataka did not release "even a drop of" Tamil Nadu's due share of 10.16 tmcft of water from Cauvery for June she said, adding, her demands to notify the final award on the Cauvery dispute in the union gazette besides asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convene the Cauvery River Water Authority to discuss the issue have not been met with.