Desalination plants back in the reckoning in Keralam, govt. set ups expert committee to study feasibility

Kerala forms a 13-member expert panel to study the technical and financial feasibility of coastal seawater desalination plants.

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Coastal villages of Keralam rank among the vulnerable regions in terms of uninterrupted water supply.

The UDF government is actively considering a proposal to establish desalination plants along the Keralam coast in a bid to address drinking water shortages.

The Water Resources department has constituted a 13-member expert committee to “study the technical and financial feasibility of establishing desalination plants in the coastal regions of Keralam and to submit appropriate recommendations to government.” Although proposals for establishing desalination plants have been in the reckoning for some years, no project has been commissioned so far.

The expert committee is chaired by the Technical Member, Kerala Water Authority (KWA), and has as its convenor, the Chief Engineer (Sewerage, Project Planning and Development and WASCON), KWA.

The formation of the panel follows a meeting chaired by Minister for Water Resources Mons Joseph in July this year.

During the LDF government’s term, then Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine also had underscored the importance of establishing seawater desalination plants to address water shortages on the coast.

In 2021, the KWA had opened discussions with the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences for identifying desalination systems suitable for the State’s coastal environment.

After a preliminary discussion, the KWA, the Fisheries department, and the NIOT had also appointed nodal officers for examining their viability.

During LDF rule, there was a proposal to establish a 10 mld (million litres a day) seawater desalination plant in Pallipuram panchayat in Vypeen.

Augustine had informed the State Assembly that a detailed engineering report was prepared and that the project was estimated to cost ₹215 crore.

Situated at the tail end of water supply projects, coastal villages of Keralam rank among the vulnerable regions in terms of uninterrupted water supply.

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