THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state capital has once again come under the radar of the National Green Tribunal for the corporation’s inability to roll out an action plan to prevent the pollution of the Karamana River. The water body has been listed as the most polluted among the list of 21 contaminated rivers in the state.
Almost three years have passed since the authorities, including the Kerala Pollution Control Board and city corporation, came up with an action plan to conserve the Karamana river. However, they are yet to take any meaningful step to implement it. Though several short-term and long-term mitigation plans were chalked out, the execution is in limbo. The deadline set by the National Green Tribunal expired on March 31, but sources say that it is likely to grant more time to the state to implement pollution abatement measures and conserve the Karamana river.
Following the pandemic outbreak, almost every agency involved in the pollution abatement activities were called back to focus on the Covid-19 situation. As the deadline for implementation of the action plan has ended, the state is now mobilising local bodies and other authorities to start taking measures.
“Karamana is one of the worst polluted rivers in the state and the NGT has directed us to improve the water quality to at least bathing standard. Around 22km of the river passes through corporation limits and 4km of this stretch is the most polluted. NGT is likely to slap a fine if measures are not taken,” said an official of the corporation. The official added that a mass cleaning drive similar to Killiyar Mission has to be launched for the rejuvenation of the Karmana River.
The official said that higher authorities have demanded legal action against offenders responsible for polluting the river. “We need specific data on the current situation for this. We need to create awareness among the public and in some cases, may even have to implement case-specific rules. The economically poor families on the river bank may need financial aid from the government too,” said the official.
The official added that the licence of the institutions found to be polluting the river would be suspended and legal action would be taken against them. The corporation plans to implement the action plan in six months. “We are waiting for the elections to be over. Once the survey is done we will check the water quality at critical points. If required, we will seek the help of the police,” the official added.
A DIGITAL SURVEY IN PLACE
With pressure mounting, the civic authorities are gearing up to launch yet another digital survey to record the reasons for the pollution. “We will need a multifaceted approach. There are thousands of buildings along the 250m-long buffer stretch on the 22km. We will launch a survey. There are flats, government buildings, hospitals and residents. Several of those households have no sewage connection and sewage and wastewater is directly released into the river,” said the official. There are 32 flats along the Karamana-Killiyar river stretch without scientific waste management facilities. In addition to this, there are around 706 establishments within the buffer area including hospitals, hotels, lodges, markets, offices, shops, service stations and workshops.