Two farmers in Coimbatore district have donated 35 cents of land to expand the Chettikuttai tank at Kaduvettipalayam, enabling restoration work aimed at increasing the waterbody’s storage capacity.
R Saravanan donated 19 cents and R Chandrasekhar donated 16 cents for the expansion. The parcels, valued at several lakhs of rupees, were formally registered in favour of the government at the Annur sub-registrar office.
The Kaduvettipalayam panchayat special officer issued an acceptance letter for the land. The donation followed concerns raised by officials and the organisation Kausika Neer Karangal that the tank’s existing spread was too small to store adequate water.
Chettikuttai is included in the Athikadavu–Avinashi project, but its limited area has restricted the amount of water it can hold. The additional land is intended to facilitate the tank’s expansion and improve its capacity as part of the restoration work.
Kausika Neer Karangal president Selvaraj said several farmers in the surrounding area had expressed willingness to donate land for the project. He described the current donation as the first phase of the expansion effort.
According to Selvaraj, increasing the tank’s storage capacity could help improve groundwater levels, support farming and livestock rearing, and ease drinking-water shortages in the area. The claims were made in connection with the proposed restoration and expansion of the waterbody.
The donation also highlights the land requirement involved in restoring smaller waterbodies linked to larger water-supply projects. In this case, officials had identified the tank’s restricted spread as a constraint, while adjacent private land was required to increase its area.
Saravanan and Chandrasekhar were felicitated in the presence of volunteers and other farmers after the registration was completed. The contribution drew appreciation because of the high value of land in the Coimbatore region.
The next step is to use the donated parcels for expanding and restoring Chettikuttai tank. Further donations from farmers in the vicinity are expected to form part of the subsequent phase of the project, according to Kausika Neer Karangal.
