Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday chaired a review meeting at the Secretariat in Chennai with Ministers and officials regarding the grant of permission to remove silt from waterbodies for the welfare of farmers and potters.

According to an official release, there are 40,000 lakes and ponds in Tamil Nadu under the control of the Water Resources, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Departments. Before the onset of the northeast monsoon, the silt deposited in these waterbodies will be removed and provided free of cost to farmers, potters, and for domestic use. This will also help increase the storage capacity of waterbodies.

Farmers and potters have been asked to make use of this opportunity and remove the silt free of cost under the supervision of officials of the concerned departments. They can register and apply through tnesevai.tn.gov.in, and permission will be granted by the concerned Tahsildars within 10 days of the application, the release said.

District Collectors were asked to publish the list of lakes and ponds for the year 2026–2027 in the district gazette to ensure the effective implementation of the scheme. They were also instructed to monitor the implementation in accordance with existing rules and guidelines.

Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources N. Anand, Minister for Finance K.A. Sengottaiyan, Chief Secretary M. Sai Jumar, and other senior government officials were present during the meeting.