The Union government has no information about the second package for mitigation of floods and regulation of flood water in the Kuttanad region of Kerala, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed Parliament on Tuesday. Kuttanad in Alappuzha district, comprises small island villages surrounded by the backwaters of the Vembanad Lake. The agrarian wetlands here are one-of-a-kind in the country, which support rice cultivation below sea level. The usually flood-prone region was severely hit in the 2018 Kerala floods. Scores of families have now started to migrate from the area, due to inadequate relief in the region.
The Kuttanad packages were announced as part of flood mitigation measures by the Union government. Tomar, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, however said that the implementation period of the first Kuttanad package announced in July 2008 had ended in July 2012. The Union government did not extend this period but asked the state government to implement the approved activities of the Kuttanad package, he added.
Asked if the Union government was aware of the Kerala government's proposal on the second Kuttanad package, Tomar said, "The Union government has no information about the second Kuttanad package."
The Kerala government said that it has submitted a list of 10 new projects in the Kuttanad region for inclusion under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) of the Ministry of Jal Shakti for the period 2021-26, he said. But, the state government has informed that the detailed project reports (DPRs) of these projects are still under preparation, he added.
The minister further said that as per provisions of the ongoing FMBAP, it is not possible to include any new projects of flood management for funding under this programme at this stage. The process of formulation and approval of the centrally sponsored scheme FMBAP for the period 2021-26 is currently underway. Inclusion of new projects for funding will depend upon the contours of the new scheme as and when approved by the Union government, he added.
For the first Kuttanad package, the minister said the Union government had given in-principle approval for providing a financial support of Rs 1,840.75 crore for implementing various interventions by concerned ministries within their existing schemes. Under this package, the programmes and interventions involving a financial outlay of up to Rs 50 lakh were to be implemented by the Kerala government from their own funds under their schemes, he said. The package was suggested by MS Swaminathan Research Foundation for development of the Kuttanad Wetland Ecosystem, he added.
Watch how Kuttanad is rebuilding itself after floods: