Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday reiterated the government’s commitment to implementation of the Athirappilly hydroelectric project, but maintained that the project would be taken up only after reaching a consensus.
Replying to a calling-attention motion moved by Congress MLA P.T. Thomas in the Assembly, he said the 163-MW project with a generation capacity of 350 million units a year had been designed to ensure that the water flow to the Athirappilly waterfalls and from the proposed dam to the powerhouse would not be affected. “No water will be wasted owing to the project,” he told the House.
Mr. Vijayan said the project had been pushed to the back-burner time and again because of protests by environmental activists and local people. “After repeated efforts and litigation, all the necessary clearances have been obtained. The Central Environmental Appraisal Committee has found the Environmental Impact Assessment report on the project satisfactory.”
Mr. Vijayan said the government would take up the rehabilitation of tribespeople living upstream of the submergence area. He assured the House that the project would be implemented only after arriving at a consensus with environmental organisations and political parties opposing the project.
‘Clandestine operation’
Moving the motion, Mr. Thomas alleged that the government had launched a clandestine operation to implement the Athirappilly project. He urged the government to call off the project in the light of the huge environmental damage caused by the submergence of 340 acres of biodiversity-rich forest.
The Athirappilly project had come back into focus recently following reports that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) was establishing a transformer at the project site.
