core sector communique

Parliamentary Consultative Committee of Ministry of Water Resources Reviews Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Recharge

An area of about 4.50 lakh sq.km has been identified in the country which needs artificial recharge to ground water through about 39.25 lakh structures in rural and urban areas. This was stated by Minister of Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal while addressing the meeting of the Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for the Ministry of Water Resources in New Delhi last evening. The Meeting reviewed the issue of rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge. Shri Bansal said that a ‘Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water’ prepared by Central Ground Water Board aims at providing area specific artificial recharge techniques to augment the ground water reservoir based on the twin important requirements of source water availability and capability of ground water reservoir to accommodate it. He informed that the Central Ground Water Authority has notified 82 areas (Blocks/Mandals/Districts/Tehsils,etc) in the country for regulation of ground water development and management so that the ground water withdrawal is reduced. Recalling that India has a rich tradition of water harvesting which is more than two millenia old, the Minister said that evidence of this tradition has been found in ancient texts, inscriptions and archaeological remains. He said the Kuhals of Jammu, Kuls of Himachal Pradesh, Guls of UttarKhand, Pats of Maharashtra, Zings of Ladakh, Zabos of Nagaland, Eris of Tamilnadu, Keres of Karnataka, Tankas, Kundis, Bawdis, Jhalaras, etc. of Rajasthan are but a few of the traditional rain harvesting systems, which existed in India but have fallen into disuse with the advent of western technology and introduction of piped water supply system. Emphasising on the need of community involvement in groundwater recharge, Shri Bansal said that going by the examples of community ground water management initiatives in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, it offers tremendous scope for sustainable management of groundwater resources, especially, in hard rock and hilly areas. He said the Ministry of Water Resources has instituted 21 Awards including one National Water Award for NGOs/Gram Panchayats/ULBs/Institutions/Corporate Sector and Individuals for adopting innovative practices of ground water augmentation by rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge. The Minister said that the Union Government had circulated a Model Bill to the States and Union Territories to enable them to enact suitable legislation for regulation and control of ground water development. He added the Bill which was initially circulated in 1970 had been re-circulated in 1992, 1996 and 2005 for adoption by the states. Stating that some of the states have adopted the bill, Shri Bansal emphasised that it is important that regulation be done by all the states at their level. The Members of Parliament who were present included Dr. Prabha Kishor Taviad, Dr. Jyoti Mirdha, Shri Prataprao N. Sonawane, Dr. Kirodilal Meena, Dr. Prabha Thakur and Dr. Gyan Prakash Pilania. Expressing concern over ground water levels, they called for innovative measures for its recharge.