Minister for Water Resources Mathew T. Thomas told the Assembly on Wednesday that he had no plan to increase the charge of drinking water piped to households.
Requesting the Assembly to approve the demand for grants in the budget for water supply and sanitation, Mr. Thomas agreed with the Opposition that seepage of untreated sewage into rivers, ponds, lakes and lagoons had worsened and was a primary cause of contamination. He said only Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi had sewage treatment plants.
V.D. Satheesan flagged sewage pollution as the most significant threat to Kerala’s water security. Mr. Thomas said the scarcity of water at the source of rivers was another. Climate change was the culprit.
The Minister said the government would construct barrages and regulators across eight rivers in Kerala to conserve water for drinking and irrigation.
The government would extend the piped drinking water network. Currently, it covered only 54% of the population. The plan was to increase coverage to 64%.
Desilting of dams to enhance their storage was a priority. The government would launch a pilot project in Aruvikkara.
