Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Sunday came down heavily on the corruption of bureaucrats, especially the practice prevailing in the public construction sector, saying the dam construction sector was the conventional sector of corruption.
Dedicating the partially commissioned Karapuzha Irrigation project, the biggest irrigation project in the district built at a cost of Rs.259 crore, to the nation at a function held on the premises of the dam near Meenangadi in Wayanad district. Mr.Achuthanandan said that the Kallada irrigation project from the south to the Kanjirappuzha and the Pazhassi irrigation projects in the north of the state were standing as the deplorable specimens for the corruption in the department.
Referring to the untimely delay occurred in the commissioning of the Karapuzha irrigation project Mr. Achuthanandan said the main draw back of an irrigation project in the state was that the construction could not be completed or commissioned in accordance with the plan and schedule.
Mr. Achuthanandan said that though the works of the Karapuzha project had been started in 1977 at an estimated cost of Rs.7.6 crore, it could not be completed after 32 years by spending as much as Rs.256.
No irrigation project in the state has been commissioned in a time bound manner the Chief Minister said and added that the situation was changed after the Left Democratic government had come to power.
Mr. Achuthanandan said the Water resource department had adopted continuous measures to acquire efficiency and transparency in the construction and maintenance sector either of the Drinking water supply projects or the Irrigation projects and the partial commissioning of the project was also the part of it.
The works started last year for the Chamravattom Regulator cum Bridge, that had been standing as another specimen for corruption and uncertainty for last three decades, was an example for the active intervention of the LDF government, Mr. Achuthanandan said.
The government was able to make a sound growth in water resource sector too, the works of the new check dams and lift irrigation projects were the examples for it, Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said a collective attempt of the public, local self government bodies and officials are concerned was the need of the hour to conserve the water bodies in the state including the ponds, lakes and Rivers as many of them became the dumping yard of waste or filling it for construction purposes.
Stringent laws should be needed to conserve it and the consciousness of the public also should raise against it, Mr. Achuthanandan said .The government will adopt legal measures to acquire the alienated land of the tribal in the district, the chief Minister said and assured that the government would provide land to the landless tribal people within its tenure. Water Resource Minister N.K. Premachandran presided at the function.
