Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

New authority for State waterways

Thiruvananthapuram: The government will set up the Kerala Inland Water Development Authority (KIWDA) on the lines of the Inland Waterways Development Authority (IWAI) for the development of all waterways in the State.

The proposal to set up the KIWDA is awaiting Cabinet approval, official sources told TheHindu. As the IWAI takes care of the national waterways, the KIWDA will be responsible for the development of waterways in Kerala.

The decision to set up the KIWDA was taken as it was found that the lack of an authority was the main hurdle in developing the waterways of the State which has immense potential, sources said.

In 1998, the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac) submitted the techno-economic feasibility report of the Kollam-Kovalam and Kottupuram-Kasaragod stretches of the West Coast Canal to the Inland Waterways Authority of India for extending the National Waterway III up to Kasaragod in the North and Kovalam in the South.

It needed almost nine years for the development of the 205-km Kollam-Kottapuram stretch with Union Government funding.

It was found that the lack of coordination between various State Government departments and the IWAI delayed the project. The stretch was declared as National Waterway III by IWAI on February 1, 1993.

It will be operationalised before November 1, Kerala Formation Day, official sources said. The KIWDA will have representatives of all departments concerned. It will also co-ordinate with the State departments and IWAI.

At present, the irrigation wing under the Water Resources Department takes care of the State waterways. Often, its work is limited to dredging of the waterways and protection of the banks. The proposed authority too will ensure that the banks of the waterways are safe.

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