Periyar Diversion Scheme
Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"
Meaning
The Periyar Diversion Scheme (1895) is an early inter-basin transfer, which means moving water from one river basin to another. The Periyar normally flows west into the Arabian Sea through Kerala. Under this scheme, water stored behind the Mullaperiyar dam is sent east through a tunnel across the Western Ghats. It enters the Vaigai basin to irrigate the dry Madurai region of Tamil Nadu. It shows how surplus water on one side of a mountain can be moved to a water-short side.
Example
Periyar water from Idukki in Kerala flows through the tunnel into the Vaigai basin. There it irrigates farms around Madurai in Tamil Nadu. NCERT lists it with the Indira Gandhi Canal and the Beas-Satluj link as examples of moving water between basins.
Don't confuse with
- Mullaperiyar dam: this is the dam that stores the water. The Diversion Scheme is the full transfer system, including the tunnel.
- Ken-Betwa link: this is the first link under the modern National Perspective Plan. Its foundation was laid in 2024, more than a century after the Periyar scheme.