New body to manage rivers is State

But experts sceptical about the efficacy of such an authority

The government has announced plans to constitute a State River Management Authority for the conservation and sustainable management of 44 rivers in the State.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Tuesday that river boards would be set up for management of individual rivers. He was responding to a calling attention motion moved by S. Sarma demanding the constitution of a river management authority for conservation of the Periyar river.

The government move has evoked scepticism among river management experts and environmental activists.

Incidentally, the previous UDF regime had announced plans to set up the Kerala River Basin Authority for the management of all the rivers in the State. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had announced that the authority would be set up in 2016-17 and an amount of ₹2 crore was earmarked for the purpose.

The UDF government started work on drafting the Kerala River Basin Authority Bill which proposed a multi-tier system, including a State River Basin Council chaired by the Chief Minister, a State River Basin Authority headed by the Chief Secretary, a Regional River Basin Council, and Regional River Basin Board for major rivers and clusters of minor rivers. Local river conservation societies were also being envisaged.

But a raging dispute over the nodal agency for the implementation of the Act derailed the preparatory work. With the departments of Environment and Water Resources failing to come to a consensus on the issue, the project failed to take off.

A section of officials feel that a large number of stakeholder departments would pose coordination problems for the authority, defeating its very purpose. They prefer an autonomous body such as the Pollution Control Board to be entrusted with the responsibility.

“The idea of a State-level authority is welcome but it would serve little purpose unless it is vested with the structure and clear mandate to carry out its responsibilities,” says N.K. Sukumaran Nair, general secretary, Pampa Parirakshana Samithi.

Mr. Nair fears that the proposed authority would meet the same fate as the Pampa River Basin Authority and the Kuttanad Prosperity Council which have remained non-starters. “What is lacking here is the political and administrative will for the conservation and management of rivers,” he says.