Concerned about the water crisis and drought conditions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Chief Ministers of all States advising them to conserve rainwater during the forthcoming monsoon.
The PM had earlier written a personal letter to 'Gram Pradhans'(village chiefs) urging them to conserve rainwater. The issue of drought conditions and water scarcity was discussed at the highest level at the NITI Aayog's governing council meeting last week.
According to a NITI Aayog report, Delhi is among 21 major cities that will run out of groundwater by 2020. Situation in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is also grim. It is not much better in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. About half of Maharashtra - including the districts of Latur, Beed and Osmanabad in Marathwada region - comprising nearly three-fourth of 36 districts of the state are facing severe drought situation. In Karnataka, two dozen of its 30 districts - nearly 80 per cent - are reeling under drought.
In his letter, the PM advised the CMs to focus on the construction of farm pond structures, desilting and rehabilitation of irrigation tanks, micro-watersheds, construction of groundwater recharge structures, building of rainwater harvesting structures - both roof-top and ground-level tanks. "Most-of these measures need to be taken at the local level by mobilizing gram panchayats and communities, and dovetailing resources from various ongoing government programmes. Recent studies have also shown a marked reduction in fecal contamination ofgroundwater resources in many states owing to improvements in sanitation and use of toilets," Modi stated in the letter.
The Prime Minister also asked them to take this mater on high priority and issue necessary instructions to the concerned departments and districts to draw up action plans with concrete.
According to the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), about 42 per cent of India is 'abnormally dry' which around 6 per cent is more than last year. The pre-monsoon season this year is the second driest in 65 years, with gross rainfall deficiency recorded at 25 per cent, said private forecaster Skymet. Chennai and its suburbs are experiencing severe water scarcity this summer, with borewells and lakes going dry, forcing people and commercial establishments to depend on water supplied through tankers from villages in neighbouring districts.
A study by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) from earlier this year found that groundwater levels in Delhi are depleting at an astonishing rate of 10 cm per year.
"Measurable outcomes and implement them under your personal supervision. I am requesting the Cabinet Secretary to follow up with your Chief Secretaries. The Central Government will continue to provide full support to States in the matter. We need to collectively take timely measures to enable optimum utilization of the coming monsoon rainfall by way of storing and conserving it for future use," Modi said.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), monsoon rain deficiency has touched 43 percent till June 20 in the country. The monsoon has covered just about 10-15 percent of the country so far, whereas normally, two-thirds of India should have received monsoon rains by this time of the year.
