THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what could be termed as a major achievement amid Covid-19 pandemic, Kerala secured second position in the ranking of National Hydrology Project at the national-level review in the surface water category by improving its position from the seventh spot. In January this year, the state had performed better by jumping from 13th rank to 7. Damodar Valley Corporation scored the first rank with a difference of 0.67 points with Kerala. The ranking was published by the Union Government.
The hydrology project, fully funded by the World Bank, began in 2016. As part of the project, the bank will give a grant of `44 crore to the state for eight years. The project is expected to be completed in 2024 which is being implemented by a total of 44 agencies.
It involves collection of data on the quality of water that flows through the 44 rivers in the state, on annual rainfall, improving quality and number of data-collection instruments. The ranking is part of a mid-term review of the Central and state governments’ works to achieve the goal of providing piped drinking water connections to every household over the next five years. Another objective of the ranking is the Water Resources Information System to create a real-time integrated National Water Information Centre for all states. The ranking is based on the parameters for procurement, finance and data digitisation among other factors