India to celebrate 2007 as ''Water Year''

New Delhi, Feb 5 (UNI) The Centre has decided to observe this year as the ''Water Year'', announced the Union Minister for Water Resources Prof Saifuddin Soz today.

Addressing the two-day, seventh Social Sector Conference here, Mr Soz said during this year, his Ministry will discuss the various water-related issues in a focussed manner with the object of ensuring successful implementation of policies and programmes and to launch a massive awareness programme all over the country.

He said that during the year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair a meeting of all the Chief Ministers to be held under the National Water Resources Council.

Apart from this, a National Congress on Ground Water will also be held.

He said his Ministry had also submitted a proposal for setting up a National Water Resources Board under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources.

He said the Ministry had chalked up a farmers' participatory action research programme in 5000 villages to promote more crop and income per drop of water. Under this, training will be provided to water masters in each ''Pani Panchayat'' and an award will also be given to the best Pani Panchayat, he added.

The Minister said during the year, they will also be discussing the wider dissemination of know-how to the user level through electronic and print media.

Organisation of workshops/seminars on water-related technical and management issues, besides festivals, fairs, training and mass awareness programmes will also be undertaken, he said.

Responding to a question, the Minister said availability of water for the country as a whole had been assessed as 1860 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM). However, it was estimated that only about 1123 BCM could be utilised which included 690 BCM of surface water and 433 BCM of replenishable ground water resources.

Water situation in the country was within control and was not alarming, he added.

He felt that if water could be brought under the concurrent list, a number of water-related problems could be resolved much faster.

Presently, a number of states were treating water as the state's property without openly saying it.

Prof Soz said that in this respect, even the Parliamentary Standing Committee and the consultative committee attached to his Ministry both had recommended that Water should be brought under the purview of the Concurrent list.

On the issue of linking of rivers project, the Minister said most of the States had given their approval except six and ''we are confident that even they will give their consent.'' The Ministry was having regular discussion with those States towards achieving this objective, he said.

The Minister, however, failed to give any satisfactory reply on how to control the flooding of North Bihar from the rising rivers of Nepal and how to ensure Bramhaputra river's ecology in the wake of reports that China was planning to divert its flow route and what would happen if the Baglihar project went in favour of Pakistan.

UNI