WATER RESOURCES ATLAS OF MADURAI DISTRICT CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION I 2. IRRIGATION OF TANKS AND PONDS IN TAMIL NADU I - III 2.1 Indigenous Water harvesting structure I 2.2 Declining Local Management II 2.3 Village Ponds and Ooranies II 2.4 Tanks becoming an Endangered species II 2.5 Reviving Tank Systems. III 3. PERSPECTIVE PLANNING FOR WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT III - V 3.1 Need for information Systems III 3.2 Need for basic data on Tanks and Ponds in each district III 3.3 Data Collection process and Block-wise compilation of data. III - IV 3.4 Salient Features of Madurai District V 4. NATURE OF DATA AVAILABLE IN THIS ATLAS V 5. PROFILE OF VADIPATTI BLOCK VI 6. MADURAI DISTRICT PANCHAYAT UNIONS VII 7. vadipatti PANCHAYAT UNION VIII 8. village NAMES 001 Kulasekarankottai 1 - 14 002 Viralipatti 15 - 22 003 Katchaikatty 23 - 38 004 Thathampatty 39 - 52 005 Chinnamanayakanpatty 53 - 54 006 Andipatty 55 - 64 007 Thummichampatty 65 - 68 008 Kattakkulam 69 - 74 009 Neerethan 75 - 80 010 Bodynayakkanpatti 81 - 90 011 Nachikulam 91 - 98 012 Irumbodi 99- 100 013 Karuppatty 101-102 014 Ayan Kuruvithurai 103 - 104 015 Kovil Kuruvithurai 105 - 110 016 Mannadimangalam 111 - 118 017 Mullipallam 119 - 126 018 Ayyan Thenkarai 127- 132 019 Katchiraeruppu 133 - 134 020 Kovil Thenkarai 135 - 136 021 Pettai 137 - 138 022 Sholavandan 139 - 142 023 Solaikurichi 143 - 144 024 Thiruvedagam 145 - 146 025 Thirumalnatham 147 - 152 026 Nedunkulam 153 - 166 027 Thiruvalavayanallur 167 - 174 028 Nagari 175 - 180 029 Thattankulam 181 - 184 030 Chithalangudi 185 - 196 WATER RESOURCES ATLAS OF MADURAI DISTRICT 1. INTRODUCTION: ♦ Water is a prime natural resource. ♦ A basic human need. ♦ A precious national asset. ♦ Critical elements in development planning According to our National Water Policy. Planning and development of water resources and their use needs to be governed by National perspective. It has been estimated that out of the total precipitation of around 400 million ha.m.(4000 billion cu.m.) in the country, surface water availability is about 178 million ha. m. (1780 billion cu.m.). Out of this, only about 50% can be put to beneficial use because of topographical and other constraints. In addition, there is a ground water potential of about 42 million ha.m. (420 billion cu.m.). The availability of water is highly uneven in space and time. Precipitation is confined to only about three to four months with 20-45 significant rainy days in the year. Hence there is an imperative need for effective collection of rain water for storing in appropriate places ( Reservoirs, Lakes, Tanks, Ponds and aquifers) in order to use the stored water efficiently for economical and social purposes. Water as a resource is one and indivisible; rainfall, river water, surface ponds and lakes and ground water are all parts of one system. Water is also a part of the larger eco system. Development & Economic growth inevitably lead to increasing demands for water for diverse purposes viz. domestic, industrial, agricultural, hydropower, navigation, recreation, etc. So far, the principal consumptive use of water has been for irrigation. The demand for water for social and other economic uses is also increasing substantially. As a result, water which is already a scarce resource will become even more scarce in the near future. 2. IRRIGATION TANKS AND PONDS IN TAMILNADU: 2.1 Indigenous water harvesting structures: The irrigation tanks and village ponds of South India are traditional Water harvest- ing structures indigenously designed by native rulers and chieftains over the past several centuries and have been among the most important water resources for rural communities. Tanks & Ponds : ♦ Traditional Water harvesting structure. ♦ Situates in drought-prone or low-level tracts. ♦ Valuable assets to these communities. ♦ multifarious uses - Irrigator. ♦ Drinking water for humans - livestock - domestic needs - ground water recharging - firewood and timber production - fish farming, fodder development - silt for agricultural lands. No better advocacy than the following observation made by the English Historian is needed to stress the importance of safeguarding the sustainable use of tank systems to reap continued benefits. I “These are the monuments of real kings, who were the fathers of their people; testators to a posterity which they embraced as their own. These are the grand sepulchres built by ambition of an insatiable benevolence, which not content with reigning in the dispensation of happiness during the contracted term of human life, had strained with all the reachings and graspings of vivacious mind, to extend the domain of their bounty beyond the limits of nature, and to perpetuate themselves through generations, the guardians, the protectors, the nourishers of mankind”. Edmund Burke 1785 on minor irrigation tanks in South India. 2.2 Declining local Management : These minor irrigation tanks, numbering around 39000 in Tamilnadu were formerly controlled by village assemblies. During the medieval period, village communities owned and managed tank systems, collecting cess (water tax), and facilitating land transfers without interference from the state. In the 18th century, the British introduced private land ownership through various settlements and tanks, like other village assets, became the property of the state. Presently in Tamilnadu, rainfed minor irrigation tanks with ayacuts of more than 40 ha and systems tanks ( chain of tanks fed by river diversion systems are under the purview of the Water Resources Organization of Public Works Department, those rainfed tanks with ayacuts of less than 40 ha. are maintained by Panchayat Unions. The latter are greater in number. 2.3 Village Ponds, Ooranies : In addition to the multi – purpose minor irrigation tanks, the village communities have formed small Ponds and Ooranies of their own ( In Tamil, “Oorani” means a water storage for the consumption of the village community ) on need basis with their joint action so as to use them for their cattle and other domestic purposes. They are as old as the village itself. During 1980s, hundreds of Percolation ponds were constructed under various drought relief programmes such as JVVT, EAS etc in each district for the exclusive purpose of recharging ground water by storing the excess run-off during the monsoon seasons to benefit a number of agricultural wells situated in their zone of influence. 2.4 Tanks becoming an Endangered species : In many ways tanks are similar to endangered species . Tank system conditions are deteriorating year by year. The area under tank irrigation in the state has declined from about 10 lakh hectares in 1966-67 to about 6 lakh hectares in 1993-94. The reasons that could be attributed for such a declining situation are; Breakdown of traditional local irrigation institutions caused by centralization Encroachments and siltation in the water spread areas, supply channel and surplus courses. Lack of farmer involvement and improper water use. Urbanisation. System failure. Meagre resource allocation. 2.5 Reviving Tank Systems : II Realizing the urgent need for the revival of the ingeniously designed Tanks and the Ponds as effective water harvesting structures to meet the water requirement for the future generations, a number of national and international agencies are showing interest in rehabilitating the tank systems of the state. A number of research projects are also being undertaken to find out the problems in tank systems and to suggest suitable policy measures for reviving the tank systems. 3. PERSPECTIVE PLANNING FOR WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT : 3.1 Need for Information system : Water is one of the most crucial elements in development planning. Efforts to develop, conserve, utilize and manage this important resource have to be guided by national perspective. The prime requisite for resource planning is a well – developed information system. There is a strong need for establishing a standardized information system with a net work of data banks and data bases, integrating and strengthening the agencies at various levels and improving the quality of data and processing capabilities. The water resources should be conserved and the availability augmented by measures for maximizing retention and minimizing losses. Resource planning in the case of water has to be done for hydrological units such as drainage basin as a whole, or for a sub basin. The present administrative boundaries are also to be taken into consideration for co-ordinating the developmental activities concerned with water. Special multi – disciplinary units need to be set up in each district to prepare comprehensive plans taking into account not-only the needs of irrigation, but also harmonizing various other uses. Recycling and re-use of water should be an integral part of water resources development & management. In view of the vital importance of water for human, animal and plant life, for maintaining ecological balance and for economic and developmental activities of all kinds, considering its increasing scarcity, planning and management of this resource and its optimal, economical and equitable use has become a matter of utmost urgency. 3.2 Need for basic data on Tanks and Ponds in each district : Statistical data on Tanks show different figures at the different points of time in each district. Further the available count of tanks and ponds do not provide any information about their exact locations, capacity, utility and present status. Hence researchers and the planners are struggling to get even basic data on this important issue of water harvesting for perspective planning to offset the uncertainities of water distribution in future. So, there is an urgent need for securing the basic data on the number of Tanks and Ponds available in each district and this would serve as a part of the Management Information System. With this objective in mind, the District collector, Dr. Chandra Mohan B. I.A.S initiated an attempt to secure and compile all the data relevant to the surface water storage facilities available in Madurai district and their present status in order to facilitate planning for appropriate action by various Govt.