Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, in his policy address in the State Assembly on Friday, reiterated the State's plans to build a new dam to replace the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district.
Kerala is committed to providing water to Tamil Nadu while safeguarding the lives of its people, the policy address said.
“As regards the Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district, we are taking every effort to ensure the safety of people of Kerala while making sure that the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu gets the water it needs. We believe that the dam’s capacity should not exceed 136 feet of storage,” the Governor said in his policy address.
Jal Jeevan Mission
The Water Resources department aims to provide 10.22 lakh new water connections to rural households under the Centrally assisted Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) during 2022, according to the policy address.
Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine said, in a separate statement on Friday, that till Thursday, 10.58 lakh connections had been provided under the JJM. With two more years to go, the State needs to provide 43 lakh more functional household tap connections (FHTC) to achieve the target.
The project has found mention in the policy address at a time when the Centre has asked the State to expedite JJM-related projects as the State has fallen short of the annual targets.
Flood warning
According to the Governor's policy address, the State government will strengthen flood prediction capabilities by installing more hydro-meteorological stations and flood early warning systems this year.
The government also intends to create State-level masterplans for all major rivers for the sustainable conservation of river ecosystems.
The government has plans to transform the Kerala Engineering Research Institute (KERI) under the Irrigation department, into a national-level, research-oriented institute of academic excellence to meet the challenges in water resources management.
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatments plants (STPs) with a capacity of 30 mld and 9 mld respectively will be constructed at Alappuzha and Cherthala municipalities. The construction of the 5-mld STP at Elamkulam and 12-mld STP at Kureepuzha will be completed this year.
