Ground Water Conservation
Ground
water plays an important role in Indian economy and in ensuring food security of
the country. The beginning of Green Revolution during the 1970s brought in a
significant increase in ground water extraction which has continued ever since,
with consequent manifestations of adverse environmental impact in the form of
declining water levels, dwindling well yields and reduction in sustainability of
irrigation wells. Besides, ground water in several pockets of the country has
become unfit for drinking due to contamination, attributed to both natural and
anthropogenic causes.
In order to tackle the twin hazards of de-saturation of productive aquifer zones
as well as deterioration of ground water quality and to evolve strategies for
better ground water governance
and management through wider consultations among
various stakeholders,
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation has launched
the ‘Jal Kranti Abhiyan’ during 2015-16.
As part of this campaign, the Ministry organized a
National Dialogue on Clean and
Sustainable Groundwater titled
‘Bhujal Manthan’ recently at Kurukshetra, Haryana.
It was aimed
primarily at emphasizing the need for a collective interaction among
various
stakeholders engaged in ground water resource development and management to
attain synergy and harmony with the ecology for ensuring the long-term
sustainability of
this precious resource.
The
one-day
interaction was oriented towards the change in ground water use
pattern which in
turn creates conflicts amongst the various stakeholders
both at regional and local levels.
The seminar also addressed the emerging
issues related to governance of ground water to
cope up with the competing
demands; tools and measures to ensure most efficient use of
available
ground water; maintaining sustainable ground water quality;
etc.
About 2000
experts and delegates including officers of various Ministries,
Govt.
organisations, NGOs, scientists from Research Institutes working on ground water
domain
and stakeholders like farmers and industrialists from across the country
attended the seminar.
The
technical session of the program was inaugurated by Dr. Amarjeet Singh,
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation,
Government of India. Dr. Amarjeet Singh called upon the students
and young professionals to carry forward the baton in the campaign for water
conservation and management. He gave an example of how Israel uses 98 percent of
its rain water and asked the water scientists/manager to improve our technology
for doing the same in our country.
The technical session was divided into four parts on the following
themes:
1. Geogenic ground
water pollution – Special reference to Arsenic and Fluoride;
Anthropogenic
ground water pollution – mitigation measures.
2. Ground water
stressed areas – Management interventions for sustainable use;
Ground water
mapping and application of recent techniques.
3. Water
conservation and conjunctive use of surface and ground water in efficient
manner.
4. Ground water
system response to climate change and strategies. Ground water:
Efficient use
and peoples’ participation for its sustainable management.
A
total of 27 papers pertaining to various aspects of the themes mentioned were
presented during the technical sessions. The technical sessions made the
following key recommendations:
• Studies to be
taken up for better understanding of impact of geogenic/anthropogenic
contamination on human health.
• Pilot studies on
remediation of groundwater contamination should be taken up more
vigorously.
• Community
participation in the fight against groundwater contamination should be ensured
through an intensive mass awareness and capacity building campaign
• Advanced
Geophysical studies like Electrical Resistivity Tomography and Heli-borne
surveys should be taken up to undertake large scale mapping for the whole
country.
• The current
method of computing the ground water recharge and draft can be supplemented by
remote sensing techniques.
• Artificial
recharge techniques should be employed to push the freshwater-seawater interface
into sea and alternate arrangements for source water to be planned.
• Implementation
of two pilot projects for conjunctive use of surface and ground water may
be
taken up in two of the larger canal command areas where studies have already
been completed.
• Use of ground
water from deep aquifers for conjunctive use with surface canal water has
been
successfully demonstrated but the legal aspects of its impact on the shallow
tube well
of the farmers should be considered.
• Large-scale
ground water development is feasible in Eastern states of the country and there
is need for a second ‘green revolution’ in these areas to help India achieve
food security.
• Best practices
from successful agro-ecologies need to be replicated in areas of unsustainable
ground water development such as parts North-eastern India.
• A
workable water resource management plan must be made mandatory for clearance of
any proposal for large-scale mining involving excavation below the water
table.
• Efforts
are to be made for conservation of springs in the hilly areas of the country
through limiting indiscriminate construction of bore wells, conservation of
spring catchments and through implementation of suitably designed water
conservation structures to replenish the ground water resources.
• Climate
adaptation strategies should include groundwater management to meet the current
and projected water scarcity as a result of climate change, particularly in
relation to agricultural needs
• In
order to improve the efficiency of water application from groundwater through
drip and sprinkler technology, aquifer characteristics should be linked to the
yield from groundwater abstraction structures.
• Women
especially from the rural areas should be made aware of all the dangers of
drinking non-potable water and its associated health hazards through awareness
programs. They should be trained to learn various techniques to preserve water,
measure the level of water in open wells, and test the properties of water and
treat water and make it safe for use. They should be made partners in
distribution of water to all areas which will instill a sense of responsibility,
justice and respecting the rights and entitlements of the poor.
Comments
Post a Comment