Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003
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Kerala
By Our Special Correspondent
Piloting the Bill through its preliminary stages, the Minister said Section 30 of the Bill clearly stated that "no water from a water course in the State shall be distributed to any other State or Union Territory except in accordance with an agreement between the State Government and the Government of such other State or the Union territory in terms of a resolution passed by the State Legislative Assembly to that effect." In other words, the provision precludes the possibilities of any Governmental decisions without the knowledge of the Legislature, he added. The Minister said the legislation envisaged the setting up of a Dam Safety Authority, comprising officials and experts. The Bill, which was referred to the Subject Committee, also prohibits diversion of water from one river to another. Mr. Jacob said the new Bill had been introduced in the context of the need to protect the State's water resources through a comprehensive unified law. The existing laws governing irrigation were as old as 1865 and had not been renewed in tune with the changing times. The existence of different types of laws in the Travancore-Kochi and Malabar areas had also posed several administrative hurdles. The new Bill had been brought in the context of the vast changes that had taken place in the concept of water management and utilisation. The Minister said the Bill provides for a novel concept of water resources management with the participation of the farm community. The Bill has provisions which empowers farmers committee to carry out maintenance of field channels and canals, besides instituting a social audit mechanism that ensures equitable sharing of water resources among farming communities. A Water Management and Utilisation Board would also be set up to advice the Government on issues related to water management and irrigation. He said the Bill had been drafted on the basis of the sentiments and opinions expressed at an all-party meeting convened by the Chief Minister. He said the Government had an open mind on such an important legislation and was not averse to any suggestions from the Opposition during the Subject Committee meeting. He said the Government was not averse to the proposal to appoint judicial officers to head the Dam Safety Authority. He said the proposed legislation had provisions which banned sand-mining within 500 meters of dams, checkdams and other irrigation facilities.
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