“There is no fund constraint to
implement schemes to resolve the water crisis in the state and if there
is any administrative hurdles, that will be overcome to ensure that
every person gets the drinking water,” he said at the review meeting
here on Thursday to evaluate the measures taken to handle the drought
situation in the district as well as the drinking water scarcity in the
district.

Since the Kerala Water Authority
have already prepared a list of 34 locations where the drinking water
pipelines can be extended using the existing projects, the chief
minister also asked them to immediately install the pipelines and
provide water.

The pipeline extension would require 125 km of pipes and the entire work is expected to cost around Rs 12.6 crore.

He said the government has given administrative sanction to the project
for installing distribution pipeline in Kannur municipality, which
would cost Rs 29 crore.

“Considering the emergency of the
situation, we have also decided to relax the tender process to procure
the pipes and other items for the emergency works in the state and it
can be purchased in the same rate that was given by the district level
purchase committee last year,” he said.

In response to the
complaint raised in the meeting that the Kerala State Electricity Board
is not giving power connection to some water supply schemes of the local
bodies as well as the KWA as they have to get huge dues from them, the
chief minister said that the KSEB has been instructed to give the power
connection till May 31 even if they have to collect the dues.

“Our plan is to streamline some long-term projects, including the
conservation of the water bodies, building check dams, cleaning of wells
and also water harvesting apart from water supply schemes, at the same
time addressing the immediate needs of water,” said Chandy, adding that
all the ongoing projects should be completed within a year.

The
chief minister also instructed the officials to immediately give water
connections to all those who have applied for connection in the
Japan-aided drinking water scheme. He also asked the officials to
explore the possibility of linking the smalltime water supply projects
with this scheme.

Referring to Pazhassi project, he said the
shutters of the Pazhassi dam should be repaired immediately and asked
district collector Rathan Kelkar to monitor the work to make sure that
it is completed in time.

In the backdrop of the complaints that
the rate given by the authorities to the tankers that supply drinking
water is less, the CM gave the power to the district collector to take a
decision on the rate based on the locations where the drinking water is
supplied.

In view of the festival in Kottiyur temple in May
last week, the authorities have been asked to address the water needs
there immediately.

The meeting was also attended by ministers P
J Joseph, K C Joseph, K P Mohanan, Adoor Prakash and also the people’s
representatives and senior officials of the district.