THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vellayani lake might miss the bus to qualify for funds under the central government’s National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP) as the state government has not yet recommended it for the scheme. The State Wetland Authority of Kerala had listed only Ashtamudi, Sasthamkotta, Vembanad and Kattampally lakes for the scheme. Since the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Vellayani and six other lakes was not completed, they did not find their way into the list.
The Centre for Water Resources Development and Management was to complete the DPR. On the other hand, the DPR for Ashtamudi and Sasthamkotta lakes was prepared years ago. “The Vellayani lake has been shrinking over the years. Also there has been degradation in water quality due to sewage waste entering from inlets like Pallichal canal. Massive funds will be needed to conserve the lake,” pointed out a member of Pallichal panchayat.
As per estimates, Vellayani lake which was around 756 hectares in area in 1926 has been reduced to 400 acres by 2016. Adding to the woes, state-level conservation efforts were becoming difficult as it was yet to acquire around 87 hectares of submerged land. Around 625 farmers were given title deeds for ‘punchakrishi’ since 1957. The district administration had recently completed the list of people to be evicted. The state government was yet to declare the compensation to for the farmers.
