Source : The Hindu Date : 23.06.2009
Houseboats get the blame for lake pollution
Staff Reporter
| The absence of a treatment plant at Alappuzha contributes to the problem |
NO POLLUTING: Houseboats on the backwaters of Alappuzha in this file photo.
ALAPPUZHA: Every time there is a public outcry on pollution of water-bodies in Kuttanad, particularly the Vembanad Lake, the 600-odd houseboats operating in the region are among the first to be blamed.
However, a close look at the ground reality reveals that though there is no denying the role of the houseboats in pollution, there are a few others too who have an indirect but definite share of the blame.
It is a well-known fact that only around 100 of the 600-plus houseboats operating in the Vembanad Lake and the surrounding canals and rivers have valid Pollution Control Certificates (PCC) since they have onboard sewage treatment facilities.
The rest, who should have registered themselves with Government sewage treatment plants for obtaining the PCC, have not been able to do so since the treatment plant at Alappuzha is still on paper.
Though this has been repeatedly raised at several public platforms by environmentalists and various other quarters, calling for speedy completion of the treatment plant at Punnamada in Alappuzha, work is yet to begin on the plant.
There have been no takers for the tenders issued by the District Tourism Promotion Council for the project that was sanctioned more than two years back, according to official sources.
Interestingly, the delay in the establishment of the sewage plant has not stopped houseboat owners from paying the requisite fee for the PCC to the local Pollution Control Board office, or the officials from receiving the fees.
“It is not our fault that the Government has failed to set up the plant. We have paid the fees, it is up to them to complete the plant and register us,” reasons a houseboat owner here.
The fee receipt is brandished whenever the PCC is asked for.
The case of the canal licence, which along with the PCC and a fitness certificate, is necessary for houseboats to conduct operations, is similar.
The PCC is mandatory for the canal licence to be issued. But here too, officials have received the requisite fee for the canal licence, reasoning that houseboat owners have paid for the PCC and are waiting for completion of the treatment plant to obtain it.
“It all boils down to the delay in setting up the treatment plant. Once that is done, there can be stringent action on those operating without the PCC. Till then, it is a case of mutual understanding,” an official explains.