Condition Assessment and Management Plan for Periyar in the pipeline

The Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Jal Shakti, has informed the National Green Tribunal that it has undertaken a study on preparing a Condition Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) for six river basins, including the Periyar.

Besides the Periyar, the river basins under the study included the Godavari, Narmada, Mahanadi, Cauvery, and Krishna.

The project would enable preparation of an action plan for holistic development of river basins, including conservation and rejuvenation of rivers/tributaries, restoration of the river ecosystem and improvement of ecological health of the waterbodies, according to a report dated June 18, 2025 submitted by the Department of Water Resources before the Southern Bench of the tribunal.

It was submitted as part of a petition seeking action against the pollution of the Periyar caused by illegal discgharge of pollutants through unauthorised drains and the impact of the industrial pollution on the Eloor-Edayar stretch on its overall ecosystem. The study was under way and the reports would be shared with the State government for further action, it said.

Besides the CAMP project, the Wildlife Institute of India has been assigned with the task of conducting a biodiversity study for six rivers – Mahanadi, Godavari, Narmada, Periyar, Cauvery and Barak. The study was also progressing, according to the report.

The Department of Water Resources stated that three pollution abatement projects at a total cost of ₹115.7 crore for rivers Pampa, Chitrapuzha in Ernakulam, and the Periyar had been sanctioned so far.

On the issue of effluents discharged into the Periyar and illegal encroachment of the waterbody, the Department of Water Resources said that the issues raised in the petition before the tribunal were related to industrial toxic effluents and illegal encroachment, which were not under its purview.

The report said that ‘water’ was a state subject, and it was the primary responsibility of States/Union Territories and local urban bodies to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents as per the prescribed norms before discharging them into the rivers and other waterbodies.