The Meenachil River Valley Project, which has remained a non-starter for almost four decades after it was first proposed, is in for a revival with the Kerala government appointing a six-member committee to study the project.
According to Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine, the project envisages diverting the surplus water after power generation at the Moolamattom power station to the Meenachil to maintain a steady flow of water round the year.
“If materialised, the project will be of great support to the farming community dependent on water from the river and the various irrigation and drinking water projects that draw water from it. This is the first step by the second Pinarayi Vijayan government in connection with the implementation of the project,’‘ he said in a statement on Tuesday.
The scheme will ensure drinking water to 12 panchayats and four municipalities in Kottayam, besides ensuring adequate flow of water in the waterbody during the summer, he added.
While the initial proposal was to construct a dam 75 m high along the Meenachil basin at Adukkam with a reservoir area of 228 hectares, the project hit its first blockade when the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) began diverting water from the Meenachil basin by constructing a diversion weir at Vazhikkadavu with a tunnel to the Idukki dam.
An expert committee appointed by the State government, however, found the dam construction at Adukkam unfeasible. It instead recommended an alternative plan to reroute water from the upstream of the Malankara dam and to construct a series of mini dams in the Meenachil and its three major tributaries.
Accordingly, a detailed project report was prepared for the construction of a series of mini dam-cum-regulators, a dam at Pazhukkakanam and construction of a modified tunnel in three different phases. Based on site investigations, the dam site at Pazhukkakanam and seven mini dams were finalised.
The project, however, has since remained in limbo following strong protests from various quarters, including local residents and non-allocation of funds in the State Budget.
