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Kerala to subsidise 6,000 water-harvesting units

Special Correspondent

State targeting maximum storage of water during monsoon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Government will subsidise construction of nearly 6,000 water-harvesting units this financial year.

The Kerala Water Authority will build 1,231 of these structures, while Jalanidhi will construct 816. As many as 3,750 units will be set up in Kasaragod, Palakkad and Wayanad, as part of the special package. Besides, 8,750 wells will be recharged using rainwater.

Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran said the authority would allocate more funds if there was demand. The subsidy was 90 per cent under the water authority's schemes and 75 per cent under the Jalanidhi's scheme.

The capacities of the tanks would range from 5,000 litres (for single families) to 25,000 litres (for five families).

He said 2007 was being observed as Water Literacy Year, and the Government was targeting maximum storage of water during the monsoon. Water-harvesting units would be completed in 50 Government institutions, including medical colleges, in May.

He said institutions implementing water-harvesting efficiently would be encouraged. Learning aids would be distributed to schools to create awareness of water conservation among pupils.

Rebuffs statement

The Minister said the reply given by Union Minister of State Jayaprakash Narayanan Yadav in Parliament that the Mullaperiyar dam was owned and managed by Tamil Nadu was not correct in the strict legal sense. While Tamil Nadu was the custodian of the dam with absolute rights to manage it, the dam was on land leased by the Kerala Government. The title of the land was with Kerala. Mr. Yadav's position would not have a bearing on the case before the Supreme Court about Kerala's powers to ensure safety of the dam, he added.

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