The Hindu 18.03.2010
KWA, KSIDC plan water supply scheme
Special Correspondent
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) propose to jointly promote an industrial water supply scheme for the industrial belt in Kochi, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran told the Assembly on Wednesday.
Responding to a calling attention motion from V.K. Ebrahim Kunju (IUML), the Minister said the proposed scheme would be fully in the public sector with the KWA and KSIDC holding equal stakes. The government had begun thinking in terms of exclusive industrial water supply schemes in view of the acute shortage in drinking water being experienced in different parts of the State, particularly places like west Kochi, he said.
Mr. Premachandran said the work on the treatment plant forming part of the KWA-Kochi Corporation joint venture project under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission had begun. The project was expected to augment 100 million litres of water daily to the Kochi water supply system. Steps were also on to complete the DFID-aided water supply scheme meant exclusively for the west Kochi area. Although the KWA had drawn up many far-sighted water supply projects for the coastal belt, these were remaining stuck on account of the incapability of the KWA to take up so much work at one go, the Minister said.
