Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari, while emphasizing on adopting innovative methods in the field of water conservation in Jharkhand, directed the officials to move forward in this direction by making coordination. In the context of the study and data in the field of water resources in Jharkhand, she said that there is sufficient rainfall in the state, but we are not able to stop it completely. Our focus should be on how to conserve water as much as possible.
She said that water crisis has become a challenge in many parts of the country. This situation is not there in Jharkhand right now, but in the era of increasing population and climate change, this situation can gradually arise in Jharkhand too, so there is a need to be alert from now onwards and take meaningful initiatives in this direction. She was speaking in the meeting of the steering committee on the state-based action plan under the National Water Mission on Friday.
The Chief Secretary said that the data of water consumption being collected for the National Water Mission in Jharkhand will help us a lot in water conservation and its management. She said that we should also pay attention to the methods and techniques with which water-scarce countries like Israel and Cyprus are moving ahead in this direction. During the meeting, it was told that the state government supplies water to big companies like Tata and Bokaro Steel, so there are figures for this and hundreds of crores of rupees in tax are also received from them. But, the data of industries that use groundwater is not available. It was told that preparations are underway to bring an action plan for groundwater conservation soon.
It is worth noting that the main objective of the National Water Mission of the Government of India is to minimize the wastage of water along with water conservation. Also, the objective of the mission is to ensure equitable distribution of water through coordinated water resources, its development and management of the states. Since the water resources of every state are different, a state-based action plan is being prepared. For the State Specific Action Plan, the Water Resources Department of the Jharkhand Government has signed an MoU with Jharkhand Central University. The university is preparing data of Jharkhand's water resources by coordinating with various departments.
According to the study and data of the university till now, there are both opportunities and challenges regarding water conservation in Jharkhand. First of all, the biggest opportunity is that the state has abundant water resources. There is a need to build structures to stop water. The state government is committed to water conservation. But, every concerned party also needs to be made aware in this direction. On the other hand, water crisis is emerging as a challenge in Jharkhand due to climate change and increasing population. The water structure of the state is becoming old, which needs investment and renovation. There is a lack of coordination between the various types of consumers and government agencies consuming water in the state. Jharkhand faces the double blow of flood and drought. Groundwater pollution is also a matter of concern. At the same time, many people in the state do not have access to pure water.
In the meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari, Principal Secretary of Urban Development Sunil Kumar, Water Resources Secretary Prashant Kumar, Agriculture Secretary Abu Baqar Siddiqui, representative of National University Dr. Ajay and other officials were present.
