DINDIGUL: The idea of interlinking all tanks has been gaining momentum as the district administration has identified four villages, Ulliakottai, R. Kombai, Vadugambadi and Mallapuram, in Gujiliamparai union, one of the grey areas in the district, to implement it as a pilot project. The district administration had already identified all major tanks and minor irrigation tanks and supply channels in these villages using maps designed during British period. Similarly, all tanks and channels in these villages right now were also located using remote sensing techniques. The tanks and channels that were either destroyed or encroached would be restored and rehabilitated to store rain water and augment ground water. When contacted, Collector M. Vallalar said that all encroachments in the water bodies would be removed shortly. All scientific methods would be employed to harvest maximum quantum of rainwater to recharge the ground water table at these villages. Scientists from Central Water Commission and Indian Geo Informatics Centre would offer their expertise to execute this project. All departments particularly Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Public Works would be converged to implement it. While the major work would be done by the PWD, other departments would take care of the rest of the works. This pilot project would be executed only with funds available with these departments. Above all, the community would be roped in, he added. Check dams would also be constructed to scale down velocity of water flow in high ridge areas. The cooperation of farmers and community was a must for successful implementation of the project. The existing ground water table and recharging levels at these villages before and after the execution of the pilot project would be documented to know the real impact, he added. Already, all details about 1,577 minor irrigation tanks, including 1,000 tanks in rural areas and 577 system tanks, with an ayacut of 10,669 acres, have been fully documented. Tanks developed under the RSVY scheme and the NREGS schemes would also be networked. On successful implementation of this pilot project as many as major tanks, minor irrigation tanks and other public water bodies would be connected through a network of canals crisscrossing the district to divert water from upper ridge areas to lower parts of the villages, mostly drought-prone regions.