The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the high-level committee appointed by the State government to deal with the issue of frequent flooding of Kochi to start deliberations on tackling the problem.
The committee has been ordered to file its first report by November 13.
Justice Devan Ramachandran issued the directive when a petition seeking cleaning of the Thevara-Perandoor canal came up for hearing.
The court also urged all stakeholders to keep in mind that action needed to be taken on a war footing, and that they should not procrastinate taking a decision on the issue as the city might not be able to withstand another flood.
The court also directed the State government to include the District Police Chief (Kochi City) as a member of the high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary.
The court observed that the committee should take immediate steps for cleaning and maintaining various canals in the city.
The government pleader, while informing the court of an order prohibiting dumping of garbage into the Thevara-Perandoor canal and also the formation of the high-level committee, submitted that tangible results would start yielding in the next few weeks.
The counsel for the Kochi Corporation submitted that the civic body had taken action in accordance with the High Court directive, and that it was cooperating with the high-level committee.
Counsel for the petitioner submitted that nothing seemed to have been changed at the ground level. He also brought to the notice of the court media reports on entrusting the cleaning and maintenance of five canals in the city with a Dutch company by Kochi Metro Rail limited (KMRL). This was despite the corporation having its own Amrit project. He pleaded that the committee be directed to look into that issue.
The court also directed the State government to publish in newspapers the order banning dumping of waste, including sewage, into the Thevara-Perandoor canal so that residents would be able to know that dumping of waste was punishable.
