In line with a decision by the Kerala government, the Water Resources department has constituted a six-member expert committee to prepare a new report on the Meenachil River Valley project.
Irrigation Design and Research Board (IRDB) director R. Priyesh will lead the committee, which also comprises R. Baji Chandran, superintendent engineer, Irrigation, A. Shanavas, chief engineer, civil investigation, KSEB, C. D. Sunny, assistant executive engineer, investigation, KSEB, P. Mohammad Siddique, superintendent engineer, Water Authority, and V. M. Rajesh, ex-engineer, Kerala Water Authority. The committee will meet this month under the chairmanship of Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine.
When the report for the Idukki hydroelectric project was prepared, the design was to divert the water discharged after power generation to the Meenachil river basin and the Muvattupuzha river basin. While the Muvattupuzha Valley project was implemented in stages, the Meenachil project was shelved on the ground that there was a shortage of water to feed the Meenachil.
