The Hindu : Water diversion: official `apathy' worsens crisis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 21, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Water diversion: official `apathy' worsens crisis

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA SEPT. 20. When the State reels under acute water scarcity and power crisis following the shortfall in monsoon, the State Government or allied agencies like the Water Resources Department and the Kerala State Electricity Board have taken no effective steps to check the reported move to divert water from the Pampa and Achenkoil rivers into Tamil Nadu.

Ten months ago, much hue and cry was raised by the Opposition and the ruling quarters over the construction of a dam at Mekkara in the bordering district of Tirunelveli, linking it to the Pampa-Achenkoil-Vaipar Link Project (PAVLP), proposed by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA). Even the people's representatives and officials, who rushed to Mekkara to personally assess the situation, failed to take any follow-up action, exposing "political gimmicks".

Surplus water in Kerala rivers?

The NWDA studies say that the Pampa and Achenkoil rivers have got surplus water of 3,127 MCM and hence it has proposed the Rs. 2,588-crore multi-purpose PAVLP envisaging diversion of 634 MCM from the surplus water available in the two rivers to the water-scarce Vaipar river basin in Tamil Nadu.

Contrary to the NWDA findings, a three-year study by the Centre for Water Resources Development Management (CWRDM) clearly states that the Pampa and Achenkoil are water-deficit river basins. The CWRDM study shows that there will be a deficit of 3,537 MCM and 459 MCM in the Pampa and Achenkoil.

The PAVLP consists of three dams in Pampa Kal Ar, Achenkoil Kal Ar and in the Achenkoil along with a power house with an installed capacity of 500 MW at Achenkoil Kal Ar dam besides six other power houses with a total installed capacity of 8.37 MW.

The dams at Punnamedu and Achenkoil Kal Ar are connected by an 8 km- long tunnel. From the Achenkoil Kal Ar, 634 MCM water will be diverted eastwards, crossing the Western Ghats through a 9 km-long tunnel. The main canal from the tunnel exit runs for 50.68 km before reaching Alagar Odai, a tributary of the river Vaipar, for irrigating about 91,400 hectares of land in the drought-prone districts of Tamil Nadu.

The KSEB chief engineer, R. S. Chandramohan, who inspected the area in October, 2001, said that "even in the NWDA report, it is not clear what type of arrangements (dam or weirs) are proposed at the tunnel exit to collect and regulate water to the canal. But it may be noted that the dam under construction is very near to the proposed tunnel exit at Mekkara and hence there is chance of using the Mekkara dam as a regulating reservoir to divert water to the Vaipar canal, if the NWDA proposal is materialised.''

It is also imperative that a mechanism like weir or dam is a prerequisite for regulating the flow through the canal.

Moreover, one can hardly take the Tamil Nadu statement granted that the big mazonry gravity dam across a small rivulet like the Hanumanthodu is to store the stream water alone for irrigating the drought-hit areas of Tirunelveli district.

Official laxity

The KSEB Chief Engineer in his report submitted on November 5, 2001, recommended that "a separate team be constituted at the Government-level with officials from the Departments of Forest and Water Resources and the KSEB to give report to the concerned ministries every fortnight.''

He suggested that the "KSEB and the Department of Water Resources prepare a plan for optimum utilisation of the water available in the area for irrigation, water supply and power generation in the State.''

Ironically, the KSEB expert's recommendations that warranted immediate official attention have been sidelined for reasons best known to the authorities concerned.

Now, the Mekkara dam is almost complete and Tamil Nadu is fast after the PAVLP, reportedly exerting pressure on the Centre as well as the NWDA for its materialisation.

Hydro-electric projects

Meanwhile, the KSEB has chalked out three hydro-electric projects to generate 157 MW of power in the Cheli Kal Ar (15 MW), Vakkal Ar (20 MW) and Achenkoil (30 MW) following the controversy over the NWDA proposal for eastward diversion of the Pampa and Achenkoil rivers.

Last year, for the first time, power consumption in the State met a hydel-thermal mix ratio of 50:50, leaving the thermal power eating away the finances of the KSEB and pushing it fast into a grave debt trap.

Though the State authorities very well know that only the cheap hydel power can bail out the KSEB from the present debt trap, no effective steps have been taken for generating more hydel power in the State.

In a response to the KSEB Gazette notification of February on the proposed Cheli Kal Ar power project, the NWDA Chief Engineer (South), Ilangovan, urged the Board (Letter No NWDA/CE-(S)/NPC/DB-2000/753-56, dated May 3, 2002) that the decision to implement the Cheli Kal Ar HE scheme "may be kept in abeyance till the Government of Kerala takes a decision about the Pampa-Achenkoil-Vaipar Link Project."

Recently, Tamil Nadu requested the eastward diversion of water from Pampa and Achenkoil for its Giriyar irrigation cum-hydro-electric project. It is alleged that the NWDA

is advocating for Tamil Nadu. Social activists like P. R. Prasad and the Pampa Parirakshana Samithi general secretary, N. K. Sukumaran Nair, say that the NWDA intervention must be treated as an intervention into the State matters which is not at all good for the Federal system of the country.

Experts allege that the NWDA is spreading a fallacy that Kerala is going to enjoy huge power benefits from the PAVLP. It is equally ironical that it requires more than 2283 MU of electricity to pump water while the power produced from the PAVLP is only 1,095 MU and it is up to the NWDA experts to clarify their claim that the project would be beneficial to Kerala too, says a KSEB expert.

A major cross-section of society here allege the possible role of certain "unseen, unholy, political forces'' behind the State's "failure'' in effectively attending the needs and interests of the Kerala, especially in the water and power sectors.

The Opposition leaders rushing to inspect the leakage of dams, Ministers lamenting on the weak monsoon and the crisis-ridden power sector have become the order of the day. But a crucial question is that why the Governments have failed to utilise the State's water resources over the past four decades, instead of blaming each other for lapses ?

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