Movement urges Chief Minister to hold talks with Keralam on Pandiyar-Moyar project

The Pandiyar–Moyar Inaippu Iyakkam has urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to hold direct talks with his Keralam counterpart to expedite the long-pending Pandiyar-Moyar water diversion project.In an email to the Chief Minister, A.N. Asaithambi, coordinator of the movement, said the project, also known as the Pandiyar-Punnampuzha project, could benefit nearly one crore people in Erode, Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Karur districts by meeting their drinking water needs and sustaining cultivation on five lakh acres.The project is expected to provide at least 10 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu, besides helping maintain groundwater levels and supporting livestock and agricultural workers.The Pandiyar and Punnampuzha rivers originate in the Devala region of the Nilgiris district and flow into Keralam, where they join the Chaliyar before draining into the Arabian Sea. The proposal envisages constructing a dam near the inter-State border and diverting water through a pumping or tunnel system into the Moyar, a tributary of the Bhavani, for storage in the Bhavanisagar dam.Mr. Asaithambi said the project had been under discussion since 1965. The Central Planning Commission approved it in 1968, and more than 10 consultative meetings had been held between the two States.A revised project report was sent to the Keralam government in 2006. Further discussions were held between the Chief Ministers of the two States in 2004 and 2019, followed by official-level consultations in 2020 and 2021.With talks expected on the Anamalaiyar-Nallaru inter-State project, he urged the Chief Minister to take up the Pandiyar-Moyar project with Keralam and fulfil the long-standing demand of the people of the Kongu region. Published - October 30, 2026 06:13 pm IST