Experts moot a relook into PAP pact

Say ecological changes warrant a review, with focus on Western Ghats conservation

Residents of Chittur taluk in Palakkad under the aegis of the Taluk Congress Committee blocking a road at Chittur on Thursday in protest against Tamil Nadu denying Kerala its legitimate share of water from the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP).

An urgent relook into Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement is imperative against the backdrop of reduced rainfall and consequent environmental damage, according to experts. A brainstorming session on Parambikulam-Aliyar pact organised at the Academy of Climate Change Education and Research (ACCER), Kerala Agricultural University ( KAU), called for a review of the project and agreement, with Western Ghats conservation as the prime focus.

The session organised jointly by the ACCER, CEEE (Centre of Excellence in Environmental Economics), KAU, and Kerala State Centre for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts (KSCPWC) noted that significant changes in the agreement, formed in 1958, is imperative for ecological reasons.

Larger perspective

The participants unanimously agreed that the issue should not be viewed merely as an inter-State dispute, but in the larger perspective of inter-basin multi-river water management for the environmentally fragile locations.

The objectives of the session included de-mystifying the complex project and agreement to facilitate a better understanding of the issue and evaluating the current agreement against national/international norms/practices. It also wanted to explore the way forward, considering the technological and social dimensions of the projects and its fallout.

Westward flow

Speakers pointed out that before the implementation of PAP, entire yield from the respective tributaries of Periyar and Chalakudy River used to flow westward. Most of the yield from the catchments of Chittur River (tributary of Bharathapuzha) in Tamil Nadu, also used to flow into Kerala.

The existing PAP agreement was signed on May 29, 1970, with retrospective effect from October 9, 1958, and does not have a validity period. Though there is a provision for reviewing the agreement once in 30 years, it has not taken place yet because the review is not mandatory as per the agreement.

ACCER head P. Indiradevi introduced the topic and initiated discussions. The participants included Janakiraman (former Director, Madras Institute of Development Studies), Sudheer Padikkal (Joint Director, Joint Water regulation Board, Government of Kerala), K. Palaniswamy (International Water Management Institute), environmental activists S.P. Ravi, P. Seenath, K.J. Joy, Latha, Anitha, and Madhavan Nampoothiri.