THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The entire state has become one large ‘septic tank’, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, commenting on the pathetic condition of the rivers in the state.
But the fact remains that a single, statutory authority proposed for the integrated management of rivers continues to be a non-starter. The Chief Minister was non-committal while responding to a call for a statutory authority to save the rivers in the Assembly on Tuesday. The priority is for cleaning up rivers, he said.
The proposal for a state-level River Basin Authority has been languishing in the files despite several attempts made in this direction in the past.
The 2006-2011 LDF government had published an ordinance for incorporating a chapter in the Kerala Irrigation and Wetland Conservation Act for the creation of a River Basin Authority and a Wetland Authority. The ordinance got lapsed since then, said former Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran.
During the Oommen Chandy regime, the cause of the statutory authority was actively taken up by a group of MLAs. In 2014, the government, in principle, okayed the proposal and a draft bill was prepared. But no progress has been made since then, and the demand for its revival has become, at best, sporadic.
The whole concept was to view a river - from its source to its flowing into the sea, the riverine population and all material and commercial aspects connected to it - as a single unit, said V D Satheesan MLA, who raised the issue in the Assembly on Tuesday. “During the UDF rule, the draft bill was sent to the Law Department for vetting.
However, nothing has happened since then,” he told ‘Express’. According to Satheesan, the authority would ensure accountability in the management of rivers, which was sadly lacking now. Today, 10 to 12 government departments and agencies handle varying aspects connected to river management, he said.
“Measures would be taken for protecting the rivers. At that stage, the member’s (Satheesan) demand can be considered,” the CM said.