The Hindu : State cannot modify river accords: Jacob

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

State cannot modify river accords: Jacob

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 22 . Kerala cannot unilaterally walk away from or modify to its benefit any inter-State river accord, the Minister for Water Resources, T. M. Jacob, has said.

He was inaugurating a seminar on `Water and Disaster' organised as part of the World Water Day celebrations, here today.

"When the Chief Minister said the other day that all river accords detrimental to the State will be reviewed, he was expressing the sentiments of the people of the State. There is no point agitating for water to be released from a dam or a river when it is clearly not possible to do so. Even if another Minister were to sit in my place or another Chief Minister comes, such things cannot be done," Mr. Jacob said.

The State Government would announce a new water policy by April, after effecting necessary changes to the policy announced in 1992, he said.

The Government had adopted various steps to tackle the ongoing drought in the State. Such measures were being undertaken on a war footing, he said. The mining of sand from rivers should be completely banned, he said.

The Minister said that check-dams would be built across rivers to conserve water. Under the project, `Varsha', harvesting of rainwater would be done. The Government would set an example by setting rain-harvesting facilities in Government schools and offices. Even though the State had numerous ponds and wells and though it received 3000 mm of rainfall a year, it was sinking deeper and deeper into drought. In 1983, 1987 and in this year, drought had been caused by a 25 per cent fall in the average annual rainfall, he said. In Wayanad, Palakkad and Idukki, the rainfall was much less than the annual average, he added.

"However, in many places in Kerala, drought induced by hydrological factors has become a common feature. This is why there is paucity of water for domestic and agriculture purposes," he said.

The State's farmers had been battling such a drought for quite some time now. The plight of east-flowing rivers such as the Kabani, Bhavani and Paambar was pathetic, Mr. Jacob said.

"Even if the State gets good rain, much of the water flows into the sea, thanks to the State's topography. In the past, lakes, groves, mangroves, swamps, canals and ponds played an invaluable role in conserving water that otherwise would have flowed into the sea. This is not the situation today. It has become necessary to protect the water sources. ," he said. Though the Government could intervene to set things right, people's participation in was very vital, he added.

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