Kerala to revive 'Room for Rivers' plan for flood management

Thiruvananthapuram: The government has started efforts to reinitiate the 'Room for Rivers', promised during the floods to ensure that rivers have space to flow naturally. A blueprint has been prepared on comprehensive river basin management plan, including Room for Rivers, by integrating various departments. This is one of the conditions suggested by the World Bank for providing financial assistance to the Rebuild Kerala Development Project (RKDP) launched after the floods. 

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who visited the Netherlands, announced that the project would be implemented in Kerala in 2019. However, no decisions were taken later. The Cabinet meeting recently approved the guidelines for the same.

There will be four levels of committees. At the lowest level will be the River Basin Management Committee. This committee decides on what projects are needed in each river basin. The chairman will be the collector of the district through which the river flows the most. The co-chairpersons will be the collectors of the other districts through which the river passes. The projects will be implemented to prevent floods, encroachment on the riverbed and pollution, and to protect the depth of the rivers by removing silt.

Above the River Basin Management Committee, there will be a technical Committee headed by the Additional Secretary of Water Resources, a Steering Committee headed by the Chief Secretary and an Apex Committee headed by the Chief Minister.
The committee headed by the Chief Minister will have to approve the projects.

The funds required for the project will be announced in the budget.

Contributions from the local governments, banks and corporate social responsibility funds from various institutions will be utilised.

Room for the River

A system that allows floodwater to drain away from homes. The Netherlands successfully implemented this model. The government came up with the plan when people had to be evacuated due to frequent flooding in the Rhine River in the Netherlands. The plan, which was put forward in 2006, was active until 2015.