Decks cleared for reviewing PAP accord

Decks have been cleared for reviewing the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement in a manner beneficial to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

With Tamil Nadu responding positively to Kerala’s demand to set up a new hydropower project using waters from the Anamalayar, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has directed officials to initiate the long-overdue review process. Consultations in this regard have already begun.

In response to Tamil Nadu’s permission to generate electricity, Kerala will release 2.5 tmcft water from the Anamalayar through a new dam to water-starved regions of Coimbatore and Tirupur districts in Tamil Nadu.

The PAP accord, which came into force in 1958, pertains to the sharing of water resources of rivers in the Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy, and Periyar basins and needs to be reviewed periodically.

The accord was formally signed in 1970 with retrospective effect and was due for review in 1988.

Though discussions were held at that time, no review or modification was done due to lack of unanimity over contentious issues.

The Anamalayar (Periyar basin), Sholayar and Parambikulam (Chalakudy basin), and Aliyar (Bharathapuzha basin) come under the agreement.

As per the agreement, Tamil Nadu’s entitlement had been fixed at 30.5 (tmcft) and Kerala around 20 tmcft. Though the Anamalayar scheme was part of the PAP accord, it had not been implemented despite Tamil Nadu’s demand for more water.

Sources said Tamil Nadu had agreed to implement the Anamalayar scheme hoping the goodwill gesture would prompt Kerala to approve the Nallar scheme proposed by Tamil Nadu. Kerala was maintaining that no review was possible in the case of the Nallar as it was not under the ambit of the PAP.

After a Minister-level meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on April 28, Kerala had sent a ‘possibility report on diverting Anamalayar river’ to Tamil Nadu. A review of the PAP accord was mandatory for diverting the river waters.

At the review meeting, Kerala will demand additional release of 12 tmcft water a year to the Chittur river from the Aliyar dam to meet the agriculture and drinking water needs of the eastern border villages of Palakkad district.