The Hindu Business Line : Govt cannot continue to subsidise water: Manmohan

Call for water conservation: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh; the Minister for Water Resources, Mr Saifuddin Soz (right); the Minister of State for Water Resources, Mr Jay Prakash Narayan (left); and Member of Parliament, Dr M.S. Swaminathan (second from left), at the National Ground Water Congress - 2007 in the Capital on Tuesday.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Sept. 11 Pointing out that the country cannot continue to subsidise the use of water, the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today called for greater sense of urgency towards water conservation, groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting.

“We cannot continue to subsidise the economic and commercial use of water. There are related policies that must also be corrected to ensure adequate emphasis on water conservation, especially ground water. For example, providing free power to farmers has encouraged excessive use of pumpsets and excessive drawing of ground water. If there is economic pricing of power, there would be some incentive for conserving ground water,” said Dr Singh.

He was speaking at the National Congress on Ground Water 2007 here today.

Incentives, penalties

Water conservation and management can be better served through appropriate incentives and penalties.

“However, for the economic use of water, especially in irrigation, construction and other sectors, we must emphasise the importance of efficient, economical and more rational use of water,” Dr Singh said.

A paradigm shift is also necessary in dealing with demand management, he stated stressing that every living being has the right to potable water, since water is life.

Dug Well recharge

The Prime Minister also said that the Government is formulating a scheme for Dug Well Recharge in hard rock regions of the country, covering seven States, according to a press release.

“I sincerely believe that our Panchayati Raj institutions and our municipalities and local bodies, along with civil society organisations, have a critical and vital role to play in this regard. I want each and every panchayat and municipality to come forward with a water conservation strategy. We have the impressive example of Chennai city that had a city-based, neighbourhood-based strategy,” Dr Singh said.