No System in Place to Check PAP Pact Implementation
KOCHI: While the Tamil Nadu Government has staked its claim for ownership of the four dams in Kerala and started work for increasing the storage capacity of the weak Mullaperiyar Dam, the Kerala governments, for the past 44 years, have not made any mechanism to ensure that the State gets sufficient water as per the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement.
Irrigation Minister P J Joseph had suggested the formation of a professional authority to closely monitor the PAP system on a daily basis. Later, it was proposed to set up a ‘Parambikulam Aliyar Agreement Monitoring Authority’ which is yet to materialise. As per the PAP Agreement, the flow from Upper Nirar during four months (October-January) must be released to Idamalayar reservoir for Kerala’s benefit. Tamil Nadu may ensure 12.3 TMC ft every year at the Kerala Sholayar subject to Full Reservoir Level (FRL) condition from September 1 to February 1.
Tamil Nadu is yet to supply 7.25 TMC ft annually exclusive of flood waters at Manacadavu weir for irrigating 20,000 acres of Chitturpuzha valley from the Aliyar reservoir. From the Parambikulam Group of reservoirs, the excess yield of 2.5 TMC ft and above 16.5 TMC ft shall be drawn by Tamil Nadu and made available for irrigating lands in Chittur taluk of Kerala. Any excess water will flow to the Chalakkudy basin.
Sources said that due to pressure from farmer groups during summer, Tamil Nadu used to provide water from the Aliyar reservoir. The water year ends on June 30. This year Kerala received 7.37 TMC ft of water. Unlike in the past, Kerala has installed a digital water meter recorder at the Manakadavu weir and the data regarding the flow of water is automatically saved.
Similarly in the Chalakkudy river basin, 92,960 acres of cultivation rely upon the water ensured at Kerala Sholayar reservoir by Tamil Nadu. Kerala gets the share from Parambikulam group only very rarely since the total yield from that area seldom exceeds 16.5 TMC ft, the minister pointed out.
Irrigation Secretary V J Kurian said the Kerala Government has been forced to move the SC to get the water share as per PAP agreement last year. Now Kerala has also deputed two overseers and an assistant engineer, he added. It was in this context the minister suggested a mechanism which could forsee water needs in advance and monitor and take effective steps for the timely release of water allocated under the inter-state agreement. The minister pointed out that one of the major issues in the PAP is lack of monitoring of the system on a day-to-day basis. Monitoring of the system is imperative to make timely interventions and address it at the legal and political levels to ensure our legitimate share.
In an interconnected complex reservoir system of 10 reservoirs, it is possible to deny our eligible share by transferring water from one system to another, practically making it impossible to ensure water to the other arm, he said. The minister said if water is diverted from TN Sholayar to Parambikulam group, it can very well deny the water to intermediate Kerala Sholayar reservoir and can deny our legitimate share in Chalakkudy river basin. Some analogy is possible in the Bharatappuzha basin also if TN diverts water from Parambikulam to Thirumoorthy reservoir without ensuring our share from Aliyar reservoir. So the authority can advise the government to take necessary and timely actions at the executive and legal levels to ensure Kerala’s fair share of water.