The major irrigation department authorities are likely to grant permission for the proposed 45 MLD water treatment plant of Kinfra, which is going to be set up in the Periyar River at Aluva.
Earlier, the department authorities had opposed the project citing that the water carrying capacity of the river sharply declined after the 2018 floods. But it is learnt that the department would consider granting permission for the project in a meeting to be convened by industry minister P Rajeeve in the coming days.
The project has already invited criticism from environmental activists as the intake of large quantities of water for industrial purposes would pose a death knell of the river. It was after a dispute over the project between the irrigation authorities and the industrial department that the minister decided to convene a meeting.
Sources with Kinfra said that a latest study report based on the water level in 2021 shows that there is sufficient water in the river even after flood and there are no practical difficulties for the irrigation department authorities to grant permission for the plant.
“We have already promised the government that the quantity of intake of water would be only 10 MLD in the beginning and it would reach the maximum capacity of 45MLD only by 2050,” added the source.
