The Hindu : Front Page : Package to complete water supply schemes

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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Package to complete water supply schemes

Special Correspondent

N.K. Premachandran: 40 projects to be implemented within two-and-a-half years.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State government, Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and NABARD will jointly implement a special package for completing works on water supply projects that had been stalled for want of funds.

Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran told journalists that more than 40 projects needing Rs.750 crore would be completed within two and a half years. Most of these projects had been stopped after the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) discontinued funding. A sum of Rs.150 crore had already been spent on them.

The Minister said the package would be carried out in a transparent manner with public participation. A people’s convention of Members of Parliament and Assembly and local self-governments representing project areas would be held here on May 14 to finalise the schemes for inclusion in the package.

Special committees will be formed to monitor and evaluate the schemes, which would benefit about 14 lakh people.

He said the proposed agreement with Tamil Nadu on supply of water from the Neyyar would not harm Kerala. It was only a water supply agreement for five years, unlike the Mullaperiyar agreement, which was a lease agreement. Tamil Nadu had not agreed to the draft for the agreement as it wanted a water-sharing agreement .

He said the final reports of the studies entrusted to the Indian Institutes of Technology in Delhi and Roorkee on the Mullaperiyar dam were yet to be obtained. The Delhi IIT was studying probable maximum flood and Roorkee IIT the impact of seismic activity for submission to the Supreme Court. The Court might take up hearing of the case in July.

He said steps were being taken for repairing the Peppara dam. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had not permitted raising of the water level in the dam. The government had written off the interest dues of the KWA as part of plans to improve its balance sheet.

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