THIRUVANTHAPURAM: In what could be a landmark move to reduce flooding across different parts of the state, the government is planning to restart desilting of rivers by December-end or early January. Revenue Minister AP Anilkumar informed the same in the Legislative Assembly here on Wednesday. "A meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister, had already been conducted regarding the issue, and we hope to restart desilting by this period. A few processes, including clearances from Industries and Environment Departments, are pending," he said. Anilkumar also added that 182 quays have been identified for this, which will be operated by local bodies.
Irrigation Minister Mons Joseph said that the desilting process will be restarted at regulated levels, in accordance with guidelines, and that no tolerance will be given to corrupt practices in the process. While responding to the questions in the assembly, the minister said that silting cannot be attributed as the sole reason for floods, as there could be multiple factors. "Desilting had to be stopped in the state by 2017, due to various reasons, including the death of people involved in the desilting process. According to the study by Kerala Engineering Research Institute, the carrying capacity of 15 dams under the Irrigation Department has come down significantly— an average of 13.82% dip," he said.
Adding to the discussion, Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan pointed out the flooding in different parts of Central Kerala due to the water inflow into Vembanad Lake not being able to flow back to sea during low tide. Responding to this, Chief Minister VD Satheesan said that the government will draft a well-planned priority project for this issue, in a time-bound manner.
Mons Joseph also said that the state is planning to approach the Union Government with projects for cleaning of major rivers, including Pamba. "Even though there are many projects run by the Central Government in this sector, we have not been able to provide any projects to them. However, the government has decided to communicate with the Centre and explore utilisation of state funds for cleaning rivers," he said.
Stating that strict action will be taken against illegal encroachments affecting the width of the rivers through coordinated efforts of revenue and irrigation departments, the Irrigation Minister also said that the government has also decided to design a project to do maintenance works for canals across the state. An expert committee will be appointed to study issues including the ideal places to start check dams. However, the minister also noted that the fund crunch is a major issue for many of these projects.