Forum for wetland protection by 2009

Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran said here on Monday that the proposed Wetland Conservation Authority under the State government would come into being in 2009. He was speaking after inaugurating a wastewater treatment plant at the Kozhikode Cooperative Hospital.Mr. Premachandran, who maintained that the responsibility and powers to maintain and manage the wetlands of the respective region should be vested with the State government and not the Centre, said the absence of an exclusive authority with statutory powers had caused confusion in the past. "The rough draft of the bill for the proposed authority is ready and the body having statutory powers would come into being by 2009," he said.Mr. Premachandran, who stated that conservation of wetlands, watersheds and paddy fields were "top priorities" of the government, said only a focussed legislation in this regard would ensure the conservation and proper management of "these priceless assets."Praising the efforts of the Cooperative Hospital management in setting up a state-of-the-art waste water treatment plant at the hospital at a cost of Rs.15 lakh, the Minister said the plant was a "model" for all other industrial units and hospitals in the State. "It is an important step towards the dream of a cleaner city and a cleaner State," he said.Stating that management of waste was one of the major challenges faced by the State, Mr. Premachandran said cities cannot wait till major treatment plants capable of treating the whole waste of the city together become a reality."It might take time; till then, we have to think about small plants like the one commissioned today to make our city a cleaner and a better place to live," he said. Kozhikode Mayor M. Bhaskaran presided over the function. Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) director K.V. Jayakumar spoke on the occasion.

The Hindu, 18^th November 2008