Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project is a fluorosis mitigation drinking water project being undertaken at Hogenakkal,

Dharmapuri district Dharmapuri is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil-Nadu, India. It is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitting it from then-Salem district on 2 October 1965. Dharmapuri District is one of t ...

, state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. It is scheduled to be executed by

Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board) is a public agency formed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, under the Ministry of Local Administration and Water Supply, assigned with the task of implementing all water supply and sewerage ...

(TWAD), with funding from

Japan Bank for International Cooperation The , JBIC, is a Japanese public financial institution and export credit agency that was created on October 1, 1999, through the merger of the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). JBIC became the in ...

(JBIC) using Tamil Nadu's share of

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...

river water. The project aims to supply safe drinking water to drought prone Hogenakkal Drinking Water Project
/ref> & fluorosis affected

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

and

Krishnagiri Krishnagiri () is a city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, and it serves as the administrative headquarters of Krishnagiri District formed in 2004. It is located at the bottom of Krishnadevaraya Hills, and the town is fully surrounded by hill ...

districts of Tamil Nadu. Water flow near hogenakkal falls in tamil nadu

Background

Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts of Tamil Nadu are drought prone and had been the cause of high political debates and riots. Although the

Kaveri river The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

enters the state at Biligundulu in Krishnagiri district, it does not contribute to irrigation or drinking water purposes there.The Hindu - Wanted: water without fluoride
/ref> With 10 of the 29 constituent districts in Tamil Nadu affected by fluorosis, Dharmapuri district has the highest concentration of endemic fluoride in the State. Clear water in hogenakkal falls in tamil nadu

Clear water in hogenakkal falls in tamil nadu

Project details

View of hogenakkal falls from hanging bridge

The total cost of this entire fluorosis mitigation project is Rs. 13.34 billion. 1.4 tmc feet of water is to be utilised for the Hogenakkal drinking water project. It will be from Tamil Nadu's share of Cauvery water, thereby placing no extra demand on Karnataka.

1998 Pact on Bangalore & Hogenakal Projects

The Tamil Nadu government has received a no objection certificate from the central government for the Hogenakkal drinking water scheme. A similar agreement with the

J. H. Patel Jayadevappa Halappa Patel (Kannada:ಜಯದೇವಪ್ಪ ಹಾಲಪ್ಪ ಪಟೇಲ್; 1 October 1930 – 12 December 2000) was the 9th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 31 May 1996 to 7 October 1999. Biography J.H. Patel was born on ...

led government of Karnataka in 1998 was based on the premise that both states won't obstruct drinking water schemes from Cauvery as long as the water drawn for such a project is sourced from the respective state's share of Cauvery water, whose proceedings have been recorded. A copy of the letter given to the then Tamil Nadu Government Chief Secretary from the Union Ministry of Water Resources can be found here .

Areas covered

The project is expected to cover 6,755 households in three municipal areas, 17 panchayats and 18 town panchayats, benefiting about three million people. Drinking water will be pumped to a master balancing reservoir at

Madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ...

, about 11 km from Hogenakkal. After treatment, water will be pumped for 145 km to cover areas such as

Palakkodu Palacode (also known as Palakodu or Palacode) is a panchayat town in Dharmapuri district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Geography Palakkodu is located at . It has an average elevation of 533 metres (1748 feet). Demographics Ind ...

, Marandahalli and

Hosur Hosur is an industrial city located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hosur is one of the municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the bank of the river River Ponnaiyar, southeast of Bengaluru and west of Chennai, the state ...

in Tamil Nadu. Remaining areas in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts will be covered by taking advantage of altitude gradient.

Status of the project- Timeline

29 June 1998

In 1998, Karnataka agreed to abide by the conditions imposed by the Union Water Resources Ministry if Tamil Nadu withdrew its objections to the Cauvery water being used to augment supply to Bangalore, according to the

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting (abbreviation MoM), protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a state ...

of a meeting convened by the Union Secretary (Water Resources) and attended by officers of the Cauvery basin States on drinking water supply schemes of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on 29 June 1998.

26 February 2008

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi laid the foundation stone for the project on 26 February 2008.

May, 2008

TN govt’s proposed project was undertaken in the Karanataka state’s revenue land. Also, TN government was not ready to abide by the earlier agreement as not to disrupt the drinking water projects. If TN government is ready to abide by the agreement and allow Karnataka government to proceed with its Mekedatu project, both these issues may find an end. Yeddiurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka claimed that the proposed drinking water project site in Hogenakkal is situated in Karnataka and thus sparked controversy. Soon after Yeddiurappa's claim other political parties in Karnataka followed suit. The agitations that followed in Karnataka targeted the Tamils until the Assembly elections got over there. As a result of the protests,

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

announced on 5 April 2008 that it will wait till a new government takes charge in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

M Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

, the

chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

reportedly said, "the project will not be shelved".

June, 2008

As a first step toward the implementation of the project, the unit office of the Hogenakkal water supply project was opened at Oddapatti near

on 17 June 2008.

May, 2013

On Wednesday (29/05/2013) Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa launches the Hogenakkal Drinking Water Scheme through videoconferencing from Chennai

References

{{reflist

External links

Tamil Nadu Government - Press Release regarding laying the foundation stone
Proposed infrastructure in Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri district Water supply and sanitation in India