BJP farmers wing to study LBP Canal modernization project

 The BJP farmers wing is going to hear LBP ayacut ryots' views on the long pending Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) canal modernization project from July 6, said wing's state president GK Nagaraj. 

Talking to newsmen here on Wednesday, he said that during the last DMK rule, the project was envisaged on the basis of PWD chief engineer Mohanakrishnan committee report and the Centre allocated Rs 940 crore for the project during the previous AIADMK rule. The Prime Minister initiated the project but some farmers' unions opposed the project.  So,  during his election campaign, the CM MK Stalin said after getting the report of an expert team and hearing the views of ryots, the project would be carried out.

So,  his opposition helped DMK to win in the region as the canal covers 2.07 lakh ayacut in Erode,  Karur and Tirupur districts. But, after coming to power,  he neither heard ryots views nor constituted expert team. So,  many ryots staged many stirs against the concretisation plan in the canal and expressed fear that the project would lead to felling down of 4 lakh trees, hit the ground water table due to arrest of seepages and create drinking water scarcity in many villages. The trees were over 50 year old and cost several lakhs of rupees. On the other, some ryots supported the project to ensure water to the ryots in tail end of the ayacut which didn't get adequate water.

The PWD said 15000 trees alone were existed on the canal and only 54 km length of the 200 km stretch of the canal would be concretised.   But DMK environment wing leader Karthikeya Sivasenapathy and KMDK, ally of DMK, opposed the project. 

BJP wanted no farmer should be hit out of the project and all should get adequate water. At the same time, it wanted that the fund should not be misused.  For example, 
the Centre sanctioned Rs 80 cr to desilt Kallanai canal. The cost of it per km is Rs 28000 only.  But,  government spent Rs 1.28 lakh per km. The BJP wanted such thing should not occur in LBP canal project work.

So, it decided to study the condition of the canal, hear ryots views on the project in 6 phases with the help of technical experts,  surveyors,  PWD engineers and submit a fair report to the government. BJP state president Annamalai, national committee member Karvendan and Modakurichi MLA Dr Saraswathi would inaugurate the study at Mangalapatti on July 6, he added.