State has no surplus water: T.M. Jacob

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 8. The Irrigation Minister, Mr. T.M. Jacob, today called for correcting the general impression and the propaganda by other States that Kerala had water to spare.

The Minister, who was inaugurating a workshop on `Towards sustainable water resources management' organised in Thiruvananthapuram by the Department of Irrigation and Water Supply, declared in unequivocal terms that Kerala had no surplus water.

He said Kerala proposed to give special importance for the conservation of water during the Tenth Plan. He stressed the need for making projects multi-purpose as far as possible. The same project should be able to cater to water supply, irrigation and power generation. The Agriculture, Irrigation and Electricity Departments had to function in close cooperation for that.

He called for completing the ongoing projects in a time bound manner. He asked the engineers to take the initiative for reducing the cost of projects. They should also ensure the maximum use of the completed projects. They should be guided by the principle that water is priceless and should not be wasted.

He said the Government was pledge-bound to protect the water resources of the State. For that, novel methods for the conservation of water should be resorted to in addition to the implementation of conventional projects. He welcomed expert opinions on water conservation.

The Secretary for Irrigation and Water Supply earlier spelled out the objectives of the workshop. The Energy Secretary, Mr. N.V. Madhavan, the Executive Director of the Community Irrigation Council, Mr. James Varghese, the Irrigation Chief Engineer, Mr. T.K. Sasi and the managing director of the Water Authority, Mr. N.S. Balachandran Nair, spoke. Some 150 senior engineers and water specialists from various parts of the State are attending the workshop which will conclude tomorrow.

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