Rs. 77 Crore Sanctioned for Rejuvenating Bharathapuzha

The Union Ministry of Rural Development and Directorate of Land Resources has in the first phase sanctioned Rs. 76.79 crore for the rejuvenation and revival of the Bharathapuzha in the district over a period of five years.

Rural Development Commissioner K V Mohan Kumar said that Bharathapuzha, flowing though the three districts of Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram, covered a distance of 209 kilometres.

In Palakkad, the scheme was being implemented in the seven block panchayats of Mannarkad, Palakkad, Nenmara, Kollengode, Alathur, Sreekrishnapuram and Chittur.

In the Perinthalmanna block it was being implemented in the panchayats of Aleeparambu and Thazhekode.

There will be a total of 64 micro water shed units.The funds were being sanctioned as part of the Pradhan Manthri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), where 75 per cent of the funds were from the Centre and 25 per cent from the State Government. The PMKSY was intended to ensure water supply to farmers throughout the year.

The preliminary project report (PPR) has been prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Rural Development. The project will be implemented in 51,195.17 hectares out of the total 52,316 hectares.

The detailed project report will be prepared in a year in consultation with various departments, agencies and experts. The activities proposed to be undertaken include charging of groundwater, the desilting of ponds and rivers, rain water harvesting, afforestation and contour bunding.

Mohan Kumar said that the Revenue Department has been entrusted with checking sand mining and boundary mapping so as to evict encroachers. It was proposed to plant screw pine and other shrubs along the borders of the Bharathapuzha river.

At the district level there will be a monitoring committee, where the president of the district panchayat will be the president and the district collector the convener.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS