Releasing Kerala’s water budget here on Monday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that it has become the first such budget in the country to be prepared at the local body level.
He also inaugurated the third phase of the Haritha Keralam Mission’s ‘Ini Njan Ozhukatte’ campaign to revive rivulets, canals, and streams in the Western Ghats.
Need for conservation
Mr. Vijayan said that recent studies have pointed to an increase in water scarcity in the State. In this scenario, it is important to have projects based on water consumption levels to ensure sufficient availability of water. The water budget considers the amount of water that a particular region will get over a period of time and maps this against the water consumption based on population numbers. Even as the State has as many as forty four rivers, backwaters, lakes, ponds and streams, many regions have been facing acute water scarcity in the summer months, due to the after-effects of climate change and global warming, he said.
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The water budget, which puts forward scientific methods to conserve water, is also aimed at creating awareness among the public about the need for water conservation. A committee, consisting of Water Resources department representatives and experts from the sector, prepared the budget in consultation with the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM). In the first phase, the budget has been prepared for fifteen block panchayats and 94 grama panchayats.
Mr. Vijayan expressed hope that all the local bodies will be able to complete the steps laid out in the budget within the stipulated time. Steps should be taken to channel the water collected from summer rains for agriculture and irrigation purposes. The programmes should be prepared in consultation with the local population.
Revival of water sources
He said that hundreds of water sources were revived in the initial phases of the ‘Ini Njan Ozhukatte’ campaign through the hard work of more than one-and-a-half lakh volunteers. Water sources in 230 grama panchayats spread over 9 districts will be mapped using satellite images. Once the surveys are completed, local bodies will take up activities to revive the sources before the onset of monsoon.
The Chief Minister released the water budget by handing over a copy to the LSG department Additional Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan. Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine presided over the function.
