The Hindu Business Line : Response positive to draft bill on groundwater: Soz

ON THE SIDELINES: The Union Minister of Water Resources, Prof Saifuddin Soz, talking with some of the delegates at the third International Groundwater Conference in Coimbatore on Wednesday. - S.Siva Saravanan

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Coimbatore Feb.7 The Ministry for Water Resources has circulated a draft bill to regulate and control the development and management of groundwater in all States. Many State Governments, including Tamil Nadu, have responded positively by initiativing prompt action. Eight State Governments had enacted appropriate bills, according to the Union Minister for Water Resources, Prof Saifuddin Soz.

Plan emphasis

Inaugurating the 3rd International Groundwater Conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Prof Soz said with the task of meeting the country's food security on hand, the 11th Plan programme's emphasis was expected to be on agriculture allocation.

He said the country needed to scale up its food production to 400 million tonnes by 2050 when its population to be fed is expected to touch 1.60 billion. This task will inevitably bring agriculture to the centre stage and irrigation the key tool to agriculture development.

"Flood management and command area development will have to be given the priority," the Union Minister said expressing the hope the Planning Commission and the ministries concerned including the Finance Ministry would extend the necessary support for this task.

Irrigation potential

The minister said about 45 per cent of the irrigation potential created in the country was through developing groundwater resources.

At the same time, overexploitation of the ground water resources had led to drop in water table and deterioration in quality of the groundwater all round raising the issue of sustaining the resources. Calling for an integrated approach in water resources management, the water management strategies should involve participation by all stakeholders, namely water users, experts and NGOs.

Prof Soz pointed out that notwithstanding the efforts achieved either in agriculture or irrigation management, the success in these spheres would come to naught unless collective efforts were not made to reverse the damages caused to the environment and the climate.

The experts/scientists involved in various fields should give up working in isolation if they wanted to avoid the catastrophe of global warming posing a threat to sustainable agriculture, Mr Soz warned.

Speaking on the occasion, the TNAU Vice-Chancellor Dr C. Ramasamy, said though the areas affected by overdrawal of groundwater might be limited, the blocks classified as dark or critical increased at the rate of 5.5 per cent since 1984-85. If allowed at this rate, the number would double every 12.5 years and by 2020, roughly 36% of the blocks in the country would be classified as dark or critical, he added.

The four-day conference attended by international water/irrigation management experts, hydraulists/academicians will focus on water management issues such as water resource assessment, recharge and artificial recharge, water and environment and agricultural stress etc.

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Response positive to draft bill on groundwater: Soz