The Hindu : Front Page : Kuttanad Package gets positive Central response

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Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009
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Kuttanad Package gets positive Central response

J. Balaji

Pawan Kumar Bansal has agreed to fund construction of bunds at a meeting with a State delegation.

NEW DELHI: Union Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has in-principle agreed to fund for the construction of bunds of polders and flood management programmes for the Kuttanad region development package which would cost around Rs.836 crore.

Similarly, he also agreed to positively approve a Rs.369-crore project for de-silting of canals, rivers, tanks and other water resources under the package designed by agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan for Kuttanad.

Mr. Bansal gave this assurance to a delegation of Kerala leaders which include Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran and some MPs. The delegates discussed the Rs.1,840- crore Kuttanad Package and the ongoing Idukki project with him.

According to Mr. Premachandran, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who too was met by the delegation, agreed to consider their request to include some of the water packages under the flood prevention programme instead of accelerated irrigation development schemes so that the financial burden of the State government would be lessened. The delegates wanted relaxation of some of the norms under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana for development of roads in the Idukki project. They also met Union Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas and discussed the two projects .

Mr. Premachandran told The Hindu that the outcome was positive and he was satisfied with the discussions.

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