With the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) agreeing in principle to provide land for setting up the third water treatment plant in Kochi, the city’s water supply woes are likely to be resolved soon.
The administrative sanction for the first phase of the Rs. 450-crore, 180-million-litres-a-day (mld) plant had been pending for the last couple of months for land to be made available.
A sum of Rs.238.5 crore provided for the first phase of the project in the last budget had been lying unutilised for more than a year since the land identified earlier could not be made available.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) had earlier sought land from HMT that got mired in legal issues.
A ministerial-level meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday decided that about five to six acres of land in Kalamassery would be provided to the KWA at the rate of Rs. 2 lakh per cent.
It is learnt that the details of the land transaction would be discussed by the Ministers concerned before a Cabinet decision on the same.
Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph, Excise Minister K. Babu, Urban Affairs Minister Manjalankuzhi Ali, MLAs Benny Behnan, Hibi Eden and Ludy Luiz, Additional Chief Secretary, Water Resources,
V. J. Kurian and KWA managing director Ajit Patil were among those who participated in the meeting.
The first phase of the project will involve setting up of a treatment plant of 135 mld capacity, raw water pumping line from Aluva to Kalamassery and a master overhead tank from where the water can be supplied to the three pumping main lines coming in from the Aluva treatment plant.
The first phase of the plant is expected to augment the city supply and provide water to Thrikkakara municipality. The second phase of the project will provide water to Cheranalloor, Mulavukkad and Eloor panchayats.
