: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here on Monday that the State government would constitute a statutory authority for the protection of the freshwater Sasthamcotta Lake.. “There has been a long-standing demand for such an authority and the government viewed it as highly essential,” he said
Mr. Chandy announced this after inaugurating the Chief Minister’s mass contact programme in the district.
He said one of the prime demands for protecting the lake was reduction in water outgo. “But it was the drinking water source for various places.”
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The Chief Minister said the government would put in place an alternative project under which a bund would be erected across the Kallada river at Kadapuzha and drinking water would be tapped from there for the beneficiary areas. He said the government would allocate Rs.19 crore for the project. The government also proposed to get U.N. support for the protection of the lake.
He said follow-up action on the government decision to take over the newly constructed ESI Medical College Hospital at Paripally would be initiated soon. Mr. Chandy said the government was keen that the sanctioned court complex for Kollam should not get delayed. The complex and fund for it had been sanctioned long back but the land had not been identified so far. He said Minister for Labour Shibu Baby John and District Collector A. Kowsigan have been entrusted with the task of identifying the land for the complex within a month.
Mr. Chandy announced a development package of Rs. 21 crore for the tsunami-hit Alapad panchayat. This will include the construction of a seawall at a cost of Rs. 11 crore.
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The Irrigation Department has given the clearance for the construction of the seawall and it would be taken up jointly by the public sector Indian Rare Earths and Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd.
A sum of Rs. 7 crore had been allocated for implementing a proper sewage disposal system at 11 locations on the stretch between Kollam and Karunagapally.
Decision on takeover of ESI Hospital soon
Rs.21-crore package for Alapad panchayat