The Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance seeking to impose stiff punishment on those polluting water sources in the State. The Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, 2003 will be amended through the ordinance seeking to provide for imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to ₹2 lakh or both on those are convicted. The existing provisions have lighter penalties ranging from imprisonment of up to six month and a fine from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000.
Desilting reservoirs
Meanwhile, the State government has decided to revive its proposal to desilt the reservoirs in the State with a view to improving their storage capacity. The mud, sand and silt in the reservoirs will be cleared under the project, which would be implemented as a pilot project in the Mangalam-Chulliyar dam in Palakkad district. The necessary soil surveys will be conducted prior to beginning the work. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who asked Water Resources Department to initiate similar soil surveys and other related studies in other dams.
The meeting was attended by Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan, Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas, Forest Minister K. Raju, Electricity Minister M.M. Mani, and Revnue Additional Chief Secretary P.H. Kurien among others.
