While the dispute rages between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing of the Cauvery waters, successive governments in Kerala have not executed any project to utilise the water awarded to the State by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal nine years ago.
The tribunal had awarded 30 tmcft of water to the State from the three river basins of Kabani (21 tmcft) in Wayanad, Bhavani (6 tmcft) in Attappady, Palakkad, and Pambar (3 tmcft) in Idukki.
The government had constituted the Cauvery circle under a superintending engineer in 2009 to investigate and coordinate irrigation projects to be implemented in the river basins to utilise the water allotted to the State.
The Karapuzha, Banasura Sagar, Noolpuzha, Manchat, Thirunelly, Thondar, Peringothupuzha, Kallampathy, Kadamanthodu, Ckekad, and Chundalipuzha projects had been envisaged under the Kabani river basin.
The Attappady Valley Irrigation Project (AVIP), Agali, Thudukki, and Panthanthode projects were drawn up under the Bhavani basin and the Pattissery, Thalayar, Chengallar, and Vattavada projects under the Pampar river basin.
The circle collected basic data of a few projects before it was wound up in 2011 for constituting the Kuttanad circle.
The proposals for two dams in Wayanad across the Chundali and Kadamanthodu rivers had to be frozen owing to public protest. The fate of major projects, including the AVIP, is not different though the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change had granted permission for environmental impact assessment for the project recently.
Though the Karapuzha dam, the first project taken up in the three river basins, was partially commissioned in 2010, the full potential of the reservoir is yet to be tapped, thanks to the laxity of policy-makers and officials in acquiring seven hectares for the purpose. The condition of Banasura Sagar dam project is the same.
