Project Nanneer improves groundwater quality and water storage in traditional water bodies in Tamil Nadu

Farmers in Kadiyapatti village (Arimalam block) in Pudukottai district are harvesting two crops a year for the last two years and have water for a third crop too. Before 2021, they harvested just one crop.

Two water bodies, spread across 85 acres and 33 acres, were rejuvenated by AMM Foundation and EID Parry through Siruthuli under project Nanneer, leading to improvement in quality of groundwater and better availability of water, says Uma Maheshwari Somasundaram, the panchayat president.

The two water bodies are among the 18 rejuvenated under Project Nanneer by AMM Foundation and EID Parry through Coimbatore-based Siruthuli.

A steering committee member of Project Nanneer told The Hindu on Tuesday that the AMM Foundation started discussions in 2020 to rejuvenate water bodies in Sivaganga district to replenish the groundwater and improve storage at the traditional water bodies known as Kanmais. The Foundation identified Siruthuli as the implementing agency.

So far, 18 water bodies have been revived in Erode, Sivaganga, Cuddalore, and Pudukottai districts and works are on for 10 more.

Most of the water bodies are irrigation tanks and are spread over 14 to 80 acres each. Apart from desilting the kanmais and strengthening the bunds, bio-fencing is taken up by planting palm seedlings. The local youth and farmers are involved in maintaining these water bodies, the member said.

According to C. Chinnasamy, the chief coordinator of Siruthuli, Project Nanneer, which recently won the Social Impact 2024 award of the Social Impact Conference and Awards organised by CSR Universe, has benefitted 21,000 farmers in Tamil Nadu so far and created additional water storage capacity of 2,000 million litres in the 18 kanmais.

When a site is identified for the project, which takes on an average four months for completion, digital and drone surveys are done and the site is cleaned. The water bodies along with the connecting channels are rejuvenated, the bunds strengthened, and the sluice gates are also repaired. Bio-fencing of the bunds is another important aspect of the project.

These water bodies are with the Public Works Department and it has to issue no objection certificate for the works to be taken up.

There are several tangible and recorded advantages such as increase in water storage and stagnation period, improvement in cultivation of crops on the irrigated area, increase in biodiversity of the area and water for the cattle, and better quality of the ground water, say the stakeholders.