The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Inter-departmental problems affecting water resource management: Minister

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Inter-departmental problems affecting water resource management: Minister

Special Correspondent

‘Decisions are delayed as departments fail to get their act together’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Water Resources N.K.Premachandran said here on Saturday that the lack of coordination between government departments and agencies was a major impediment to the conservation and management of water resources in Kerala.

“Decisions are delayed and implementation of projects suffers because government departments fail to get their act together. Kerala will face serious consequences unless the problem is sorted out,” he said while delivering the inaugural address at the World Water Day observance.

Earlier, Additional Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar set the tone for the discussion by pointing out that inter-departmental problems had assumed the nature of ‘administrative perversity.’ This, he said, had made it difficult for the government machinery to handle critical issues such as river pollution. “The difficulty in coordinating different departments is nothing short of indescribable.”

‘Officials afraid’

Poetess and environmental activist Sugathakumari said officials were often afraid to take decisions on key issues such as water resource management.

“It could be corruption or indifference,” she said. Ms. Sugathakumari said officials should be given freedom to take decisions and implement them.

“The government should have the political will to make officials work and root out corruption and inefficiency,” she added.

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