Initiated-Reg vs By Adv on 13 June, 2014

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Kerala High Court

Initiated-Reg vs By Adv on 13 June, 2014

The focal issue in this D.B.P is as to the necessity, viability and feasibility of increasing the height of, what is popularly known, as the Kunnar Dam, but which is more of the nature of a weir, so as to provide sufficient drinking water source to the Sabarimala Temple during the peak pilgrim season of November to January, every year.

2. The requirement for augmenting the water supply to the Sannidhanam of Sabarimala Temple was initially thought of in the Master Plan prepared by the Government of Kerala to provide for the infrastructure, traffic and transportation logistics, solid waste management, water supply and sanitation, amenities and services etc. with respect to the Sabarimala Temple. This Master Plan was initiated in the year 2006 and D.B.P.No.67/14 2 completed during the year 2007-2008.

3. As per the infrastructural module of the Master Plan for Sabarimala, relating to water supply and sanitation, namely clause 3.1.6.2, it was estimated, in the year 2008 when the plan was formulated, that 9.5MLD of water would be required at Sannidhanam and along the route from Pampa to Sannidhanam, out of which only 6.5 MLD can be sourced from the Pampa river. The module further says that the water from the Pampa will have to be used for toilets and such other amenities along the route from Pamapa to Sannidhanam as also at the queue complexes and therefore, that the additional requirement at Sannidhanam would be 3 MLD. The report further says that out of this requirement, 1 MLD has already been sourced from the Kunnar river and distributed without treatment and that the balance water required at Sannidhanam would be 2 MLD. The report thereafter goes on to consider the alternate natural water flow into Sannidhanam, namely, from the Kumbalam Thodu, Uralkuzhi and Kunnar rivers and the Chenthamara Kokka and Kallar rivers.

D.B.P.No.67/14 3

4. The Master Plan report further states that the water falls and springs at Uralkuzhi was being used by the pilgrims for bathing purposes which can be allowed to continue and finds that, since the Kunnar Dam is above this bathing area, it was the best source to be utilized for supply of the then available 1 MLD of water to Sannidhanam. The report, however, also notes that the Kunnar river is rain-fed and cannot hold and provide sufficient water in the event of weak monsoons. As regards the other alternates that was looked at, namely the Kumbalam Thodu, Chenthamara Kokka and Kallar, it was recommended that both these sources can also be channelized but that in spite of which, sufficient water may not be obtained. Therefore, a recommendation was made in the Master Plan that a wider impounding facility for Kunnar Dam be considered to augment water supply, by being able to able to store larger quantities of water in its reservoir area during the Monsoon season. The feasibility of doing so was also specifically mentioned in the Master Plan, since it is recorded therein that the Chenthamara Kokka is 6kms more distant from Kunnar and hence not being D.B.P.No.67/14 4 feasible, it would be the augmentation of the impounding facility of water in Kunnar, which would be most feasible and practicable. The Master Plan also recommends that a thorough study be conducted under the aegis of the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS, Thiruvananthapuram). This recommendation was made because, as per the Master Plan, the area likely to be inundated if the weir height of Kunnar river is increased by 2.5 meters would be only 250 Sq.mts. and this area being mostly rocky, devoid of any vegetation, would not cause any damage or prejudice to the wild life or the flora and fauna or the ecology of the area.

5. The recommendations of the Master Plan, though made in the year 2008, did not make substantial progress till around the years 2011 or 2012. In the year 2012, with the number of pilgrims exponentially increasing at Sannidhanam and since it was found that the water supply is dwindling during the season, renewed efforts were taken by the High Power Committee (HPC for short), constituted by this Court, to implement the Master Plan for Sabarimala which made certain D.B.P.No.67/14 5 recommendations before the learned Ombudsman for Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Boards with respect to the augmentation of water supply. This lead to a report being filed before this Court, namely T.D.B.Report No.67 of 2014 by the learned Ombudsman, enclosing a report from the Chairman of the HPC, with respect to various requirements of the Pampa and Sabarimala Area.

6. The learned Ombudsman in his report, dated 24.05.2014, has stated that though the necessity of augmentation of water capacity of the Kunnar weir has not been specifically stated in the report of the HPC, it was already informed to him by its Chairman that the Forest and Environmental Ministry has given a favourable report, but that only after the new ministry takes charge, a working crew can be convened and the work can be commenced. The said report of the learned Ombudsman stops by saying that he hoped that the Forest and Environmental Ministry will clear the project without any delay.

7. This Court, thereafter, issued several orders requiring D.B.P.No.67/14 6 the competent Authorities to look into the issues and formulate a consensus as to the manner in which the augmentation of the water at Kunnar weir can be done. It appears that the suggestion to increase the height of the weir was placed before the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) which considered this issue in its 31 st meeting, held on the 12th and 13th August, 2014, under the Chairmanship of the Minster of State (independent charge) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The report of the said Committee has been placed on record by the Union of India, along with the statement filed by the learned Assistant Solicitor General of India, dated 14.10.2015, wherein it is marked as Annexure A1.

8. As is clear from the minutes of the Standing Committee of the NBWL, which is dated 03.02.2014, certain other projects were also considered along with the Kunnar Weir and the decision arrived at in the said meeting was that the representative of the Government of Kerala be asked to find out if there is any alternate proposal for augmenting water supply, rather than by increasing the height of the weir. The minutes of D.B.P.No.67/14 7 the said meeting has also been placed on record along with the same statement and marked as Annexure A2.

9. Subsequently, another statement has been filed by the Union of India, dated 23.09.2016, wherein another document has been marked again as Annexure A1. This document is the minutes of the 39th meeting of the Standing Committee of the NBWL, which was held on 23.08.2016, wherein it is clearly recorded that the Government of Kerala has submitted before it that no alternate proposal, other than to raise the height of the Kunnar Weir by 2.5 meters was found and that this Court had, in a suo motu matter, asked the NBWL to take a quick decision thereon. The minutes, thereafter, recommends the proposal for raising the height of Kunnar weir by 2.5 meters, subject to receipt of the comments form the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). In fact this information is also available from a counter affidavit filed on behalf of the State of Kerala as also from a memo, dated 27.10.2015, filed on behalf of the State of Kerala wherein a document dated 27.10.2015 which is a letter issued by the Principal Secretary of the Government to the D.B.P.No.67/14 8 Deputy Director (WL) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change, Government of India is enclosed. That is the letter whereby the State Government clearly told the Central Ministry that it is of the opinion that there is no alternate source other than increasing the height of Kunnar Weir by 2.5 meters to meet the water requirements at Sannidhanam and it was further stated therein that the Chief Wild Life Warden has informed the State of Kerala that even though an area of 0.655 hectares of Forest land from the Periyar Tiger Reserve needs to be diverted for raising the height of the wear, the impact on the environment would be less compared to any other new work. We also notice from the said letter that the State Board for Wild Life, which met on 14.05.2013, had cleared the proposal.

10. Therefore, going by the above narrative, the decks has been cleared by the State of Kerala and the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Union of India as also the NBWL for undertaking the work of increasing the height of Kunnar weir by 2.5 meters. However, as we have already indicated above this was subject to the sanction to be obtained D.B.P.No.67/14 9 from the NTCA.

11. In the meanwhile, the HPC, as was required in the Master Plan, requisitioned the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram to undertake a viability study with respect to increasing the height of the Kunnar weir. A report was, thereafter, prepared by the CESS as early as in January, 2012, a copy of which has been placed before us along with the report of the learned Ombudsman, wherein, after going through the intricacies of the topography of the said area and after considering the ecology that would be effected, the logistical requirements that would have to be employed and the technical viability and feasibility of such a work, the CESS made the following recommendations:

b

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