Promises made by successive governments to rejuvenate the polluted Periyar River remain on paper, prompting stakeholders to raise it as a key election issue this time. Greens and activists blame political parties for making tall claims to restore the State’s largest river to its original condition when in power, while reminding them that the promises have remained hollow. The United Democratic Front (UDF) government made things worse. As the Chief Minister in 2004, Oommen Chandy had given an assurance to the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee, which had recommended the closure of polluting industries along the Periyar, that steps would be taken to ensure zero discharge into the river. Twelve years hence, the government has only abetted pollution by refusing to act against companies responsible for dumping effluents into the Periyar, said Purushan Eloor, noted environmentalist and spokesperson of the Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi. Quoting figures of fish kill reported in the Periyar, Mr. Purushan said 23 incidents of fish kill were reported in 2015, followed by nine this year. The MLAs in Ernakulam had failed to address the Periyar issue over the last five years. Studies by expert agencies had found that the river faced indiscriminate pollution, he said. River authority Recalling that Mr. Chandy had promised to constitute a Periyar River Authority, senior environmentalist S. Sitaraman said the government had also backtracked on launching a 24×7 monitoring cell to keep vigil on illegal dumping of effluents and other waste materials into the river. The government also turned a blind eye to indiscriminate sand-mining in the river. Salinity intrusion had shot up considerably. The river banks have eroded. The natural lifeline of the river has been affected, he said. Asked whether industrial units had faced closure over the last five years for polluting the river, K. Sajeevan, chairman of the State Pollution Control Board, said no such action had been taken by the board. No action was taken against companies for being responsible for fish kill in the Periyar. The board had not received any money from the government to launch a 24×7 monitoring cell along the river, he said. Anwar Sadath, who has represented Aluva Assembly constituency as a Congress candidate since 2011, accepted that the Periyar River Authority could not be made a reality despite an assurance given by the Chief Minister. The officials concerned could not take it forward as envisaged, he said.
2015, The Hindu