Report on the Spot Study of Water Situation in Drought Affected Areas of the country
The report of on the Spot Study of Water Situation in Drought Affected
Areas of the country (2015-16) was recently submitted to the
government. The study was carried out by Central Water Commission under the
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- Various long/short term measures to mitigate water scarcity situation have been recommended which are region/area/state specific.
Details:
- The study says that at almost all places minimum domestic water requirements are being met through importing water from other regions, by digging local deep bore wells and also by tankers.
- Ground water levels have been reported as falling in almost all regions of the country due to over exploitations and inadequate recharging mechanism for ground water.
- No specific observation on water quality has been reported at most of the areas except in Gujarat, where problem of salinity in coastal areas has been reported.
- According to the report, the water scarcity situation is prevailing in the country, but some pockets like Marathwada in Maharashtra, Bundelkhand in U.P. and MP, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are more affected by water scarcity situation.
Main cause of water scarcity:
According to the report, the main cause of water scarcity in
country is consecutive failure of monsoon, resulting low storages in dams,
during last two years. Rainfall deficit in country as a whole during 2015 was
14% and in 2014 it was 12%. Earlier, year 2012 was also a rainfall deficit year
with 11% deficit. Consecutive less rainfall also resulted less carryover
storage in reservoirs.
Important recommendations made by the report:
- Construct water harvesting structures, create awareness among citizens for water conservation and construct new water storage structures.
- Interlinking of rivers is also necessary in some regions of the country. This is especially necessary in regions like Marathwada of Maharashtra, Bundelkhand of UP and MP.
- Renovation and repair of existing water bodies should also be carried out.
- Water budgeting and planning the cropping patterns for the oncoming agricultural seasons is necessary in water scarce regions. The strategy for avoiding water intensive crops to the extent in consultation with the relevant expert departments is also crucial for checking such situation, according to the report.
- Micro irrigation (sprinkler and drip) should be adopted to achieve more crops per drop.
