State told not to treat eco protection as a soft subject The State government has failed to implement various Centrally sponsored projects aimed at rejuvenating the Pampa, the Vembanad Lake, and the Kuttanad water system, N.K. Sukumaran Nair, Pampa Parirakshana Samiti (PPS) general secretary, has said. Mr. Nair told The Hindu that the government should stop treating environment protection and nature conservation as soft subjects. According to Mr. Nair, sustainable development should be the prime objective of a right-thinking government and environment protection plays a key role in this regard. Review He said the government should review its decision to support the proposed private airport at Aranmula which required wanton conversion of wetland and paddy field. Conversion of wetland and the Aranmula puncha (paddy land) that had been the riparian flood plain areas of Pampa would toll the death knell of the river system, not to speak of the water scarcity in store due to depletion of groundwater, he said. Chandy’s statement The reported statement of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that the ongoing protests over the proposed airport at Aranmula would be over with the landing of the first aircraft there was a challenge to the villagers who had been pleading for justice and protection of Aranmula puncha and wetland. PAP still a non-starter The PPS leader alleged that the Rs.320-crore Pampa Action Plan (PAP) sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under the National River Conservation Programme in 2003 for pollution abatement and conservation of the Pampa still remained a non-starter due to the negligent attitude of the State government. Small, stagnant pools “The Pampa, considered the lifeline of the Central Travancore region, has lost its continuum in summer months, with small stagnant pools dotting the riverbed along many stretches. Around 40 lakh people in the river basin depend on Pampa for water,” he said. The PPS leader said the rivers in Kerala were hopelessly overdrawn, silted, and polluted. Kuttanad Package “We cannot afford to further injure our river basins,” he said. The Kuttanad Package prepared by Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Foundation had proposed a series of measures to rejuvenate the Pampa and the canal network in Kuttanad that emptied out into the Vembanad Lake. State not serious “It is sad that the State government is yet to take seriously the inclusion of Vembanad Lake and wetland in the National Lake Conservation Plan and National Wetland Conservation Programme,” Mr. Nair alleged. The PSS leader further called upon the government to strengthen the Environment Department on the lines of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.