IIT Palakkad Joins Hands with National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) for Development of Periyar River Basin Management Plan

IIT Palakkad signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with NRCD, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India on 28th February 2024, in New Delhi. The MoA focuses on setting up a Centre for River Basin Management Studies in the state of Kerala.  As part of the MoA, a study on Condition Assessment and Development of a River Basin Management Plan for the Periyar River, Kerala is initiated with funding of 6.9 Crores from the NRCD. The study is part of the Ministry of Jal Shakti's initiative on national river conservation, in line with the Namami Gange Project.

In the mission to develop the Periyar River basin, NIT Calicut is also a partnering institute in this study. Both institutes are part of a 12-member Consortium of leading technical institutions. IIT Kanpur led the way by establishing and successfully managing the Ganga River Basin Management Plan. The government has decided to follow this model in the development of six rivers: Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Periyar, and the Mahanadi.

Prof. Seshadri Sekhar, Director of IIT Palakkad, and Prof. Prasad Krishna, Director of NIT Calicut, have signed the MoA with Shri. G. Ashok Kumar, Additional Secretary & Project Director, NRCD. The event was graced by the Honourable Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The project team from IIT Palakkad, including Dr. Athira P., Dr. Praveena Gangadhran, Dr. Sarmistha Singh, and Dr. Deepak Jaiswal, were also present during the occasion.