The Kerala Water Authority’s proposed ₹200-crore water treatment plant at Aruvikkara has stalled because funding has not been secured, delaying a project intended to add 100 million litres per day (MLD) to Thiruvananthapuram’s drinking-water treatment capacity.
The proposal, made in July, has not yet received administrative sanction, according to a senior official associated with the project. The official said the authority is unable to move ahead without arranging the funds required for the capital-intensive plant.
“A major portion of our available funds, which is around 80%, goes towards meeting employee salary expenses, leaving limited resources for capital-intensive infrastructure projects,” the official said.
The Kerala Water Authority is exploring external funding, including possible assistance from the Asian Development Bank. However, no formal proposal has yet been submitted to the ADB and no funding has been confirmed, according to the report. The authority has also approached Nemom MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar for assistance in mobilising funds from the Union government.
Thiruvananthapuram’s daily water requirement has crossed 400 MLD, while residential expansion, urbanisation and growing economic activity are increasing demand across the city region. Demand is particularly rising in areas including Kazhakkoottam and the Vizhinjam region.
The city’s existing water-supply system is also under pressure from ageing transmission and distribution pipelines. Some sections of the network are more than five decades old, and leakages cause substantial water losses before treated water reaches consumers. Officials have therefore identified distribution-network modernisation as another requirement alongside additional treatment capacity.
The proposed Aruvikkara plant is expected to strengthen the authority’s ability to treat and supply water to the expanding urban region. Until the funding arrangement is finalised, however, the project’s administrative approval and implementation schedule remain uncertain.
The delay could affect supply reliability during the summer, when several parts of Thiruvananthapuram already face drinking-water shortages. The Kerala Water Authority’s immediate next steps are to pursue external funding and seek Union government assistance before submitting the project for administrative sanction.
