Rainwater harvesting among steps to increase ground water level

New Delhi, Dec 1 (UNI) Minister of State for Water Resources Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav today said the State Governments had been advised to take all measures to artificially recharge groundwater and promote rain water harvesting in all the over-exploited areas.

Replying to a calling attention on the depleting ground water reservoirs in the Lok Sabha, Mr Yadav said it had been suggested to the states to ensure inclusion of roof top rain water harvesting in the building bye laws.

Besides the Central Ground Water Authority had also issued directions to Group Housing Societies, institutes, hotels, industries, and farm houses in the notified areas of Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad and other areas of NCT Delhi where ground water table was below 8 metres, to adopt rain water harvesting.

In addition, the Water Resources Ministry had circulated a 'Model Bill' to regulate and control development and management of groundwater to states and union territories. So far ten states had already enacted legislation on groundwater, 19 other states were in the process of enactment, while six states had refused to enact it.

These states are Punjab, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur and Arunacha Pradesh.

The Minister said a lot of emphasis was being laid on raising awareness for optimal use of groundwater in which, he said, women were playing a big role.

He said the Aritifical Recharge of Ground Water Advisory Council was constituted with the objective to share experiences and to popularise the concept of artificial recharge among various stakeholders.

A scheme for artificially recharging the groundwater through Dug wells had been approved for implementation in over-exloited, critical, semi-critical areas in six states, he said.

As many as 165 demonstrative recharge projects had been implemented in various states under the central scheme on 'Study of recharge to ground water' in the Ninth Plan. Through these projects, water harvesting and recharge technologies had been developed, Mr Yadav informed the members.

The Minister said the UPA Government had made an allocation of 10,000 crore for development of water resources in the Eleventh Plan. The Government, he said, had given priority to the project of inter-linking of rivers.

UNI