KOCHI: A key project to rejuvenate Konothupuzha, a 17-km-long river that starts from Poothotta and joins Chitrapuzha near Tripunithura, is yet to be implemented even after nearly three years, as the Tripunithura Municipality is yet to clear the encroachments along its shores.
An administrative sanction of Rs 26 crore for the project was received back in March 2022, besides the technical sanction in May 2023.
Once used as a navigation channel, the river has become a dumping pit over the years. The then Ernakulam district collector Jafar Malik in 2021 called for rejuvenating the crucial water body. It was decided to clear the encroachments first after fixing the boundary of the river.
“The project has reached nowhere due to the laxity of the authorities. The municipality has yet to remove nine out of the total 21 encroachers. Similarly, the irrigation department is yet to tender the work for clearing the silt, waste deposits and weeds that have covered the water body all along, obstructing the water flow. This despite the fact that a technical sanction for Rs 18 crore for implementation of the first phase was accorded on May 2023,” said V C Jayendran, Convenor, TRURA (Tripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents’ Association), an apex council of nearly 140 residents’ associations.
While the first phase involves the clearing of silt, weed and waste deposits, a sum of Rs eight crore has been set aside for the construction of a bridge at Kaniavally under the second phase.
“The water body, which passes through Tripunithura municipality and Udayamperoor, Amballoor, Chottanikkara and Mulanthuruthy panchayats, has been a dumping place for a while. The rejuvenation of the water body is ecologically important, especially to prevent the frequent flooding of the region during the rainy season and to prevent the spread of diseases. Currently, both the Konothupuzha and the Kadambrayar are badly polluted. The rejuvenation project should be done on a war footing,” said Dr C M Joy, a noted environmentalist.
Earlier, following the petitions by a ‘padashekhara samiti’ (group of farmers) and environmentalists, the National Green Tribunal, through an order on January 24, 2020, had also directed the rejuvenation of the river.
“The municipality is yet to clear the encroachments as nine more encroachers need to be evicted. Also, we’re yet to get concurrence from the government, which has resulted in the delay in issuing the tender, said a senior irrigation department official.