Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) has refused to give clearance for the much-hyped Rs 128 crores Akkulam Lake Rejuvenation Project without a proper physical study on the lake. The Akkulam Destination Management Council had placed the much-discussed project which was announced a few months back.
However, KIIFB had found the project report unsatisfactory and had demanded more clarity on the proposals mooted in the detailed project report for rejuvenating the lake. Barton Hill Government Engineering College, who had been roped in for carrying out the technical study, is awaiting the clearance from the authorities to go ahead with the project.
The Akkulam Destination Management Council has requested KIIFB for releasing the fund for undertaking the study, which is yet to get the clearance. An official associated with the project said around Rs 6 to Rs 12 crores would be needed for the detailed study report which would focus on sustainable solutions to widespread pollution happening in the lake.
The study would focus on establishing proper sewage network for the settlements along the canal stretch, prevention of waste dumping in the canals which ends up in the lake. Sustainable solution to the water hyacinth menace and scientific disposal or solution to the slit dredged out from the lake.
"The projects launched earlier didn't serve the purpose as they had no plan for the proper disposal of the slit removed from the lake. They just dumped the slit around in the nearby areas and later they had to stall the dredging activities. We want a sustainable project rather than a superfluous one," said the official.
The project proposes a sustainable model with participation from the public. "Our plan is to assign each stretch for responsible sponsors who could utilize CSR fund for maintaining the stretch," the official added.
