Surat, Sep 6 (PTI) Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil on Friday said it was more advisable to opt for groundwater recharge instead of constructing large dams that cost thousands of crores of rupees.
Speaking at a programme marking the launch of the ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari’ initiative (water conservation with people’s participation) in Gujarat’s Surat, Paatil said there is almost no scope for building new dams in the country.
“Dams have already been constructed on all major rivers. Moreover, constructing a dam requires time, energy and money. If we plan to construct a dam, people will oppose land acquisition. We may have to relocate entire villages, and it may take several years to finish the dam,” the minister said.
He cited the example of the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh, which started nearly 85 years ago and for which the Centre recently allocated Rs 12,000 crore to expedite its completion.
Paatil further said the possibility of increasing the carrying capacity of dams was slim, and they were vulnerable to earthquakes.
He said although the carrying capacity of rivers will increase after the completion of the linking project, people will still face water shortages.
“That is why our prime minister has launched the Catch the Rain campaign for rainwater harvesting. The carrying capacity of the earth is much higher than the total capacity of all dams and rivers on the surface. A large amount of water can be stored through groundwater recharge, and the cost of fetching water back is also negligible,” Paatil said.
He said the government wants to ensure every household contributes to recharging groundwater.
“In 2019, my ministry selected some villages in Gujarat to construct structures to put rainwater, which otherwise gets wasted, into the ground. We saw good results under this initiative. This is just the beginning. We are planning to cover all villages in Surat and Tapi districts under this scheme,” he said.
The technique can be applied in households for rainwater harvesting, he said.
“A 100 mm of rainfall during the entire monsoon season can send 1 lakh litres of rainwater into the ground from the terrace of a small house. A family of five normally uses 1 lakh litres of water annually in a village. If we recharge groundwater, it will only benefit us,” the minister said.
He said people usually worry about accumulating wealth for their future generations but don’t care about saving water for the next generation.
Many municipalities and entities like Sumul Dairy had taken up the cause and constructed borewells for groundwater recharge in south Gujarat, Paatil said.
“We consider Israel as a model for water conservation. In the coming years, we need to work on making India a model country in water conservation. We have to work in that direction because we have a very large population,” he said.
The minister also informed the gathering that the ambitious river-linking project envisioned by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is on track despite no major progress since 2004.
“In the next two to three months, an MoU will be signed to link some rivers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The project is progressing rapidly under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi. We are also planning to link rivers flowing within Gujarat,” Paatil said in his speech ahead of Modi’s virtual address. PTI PJT PD ARU
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