Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has stressed the need for adopting modern technique in the field of water conversation and to make it a public movement. Addressing the third day of the national conference on issues for optimal use of water resources called “Jal Manthan” here today, the Minister said there is a need to take the issue of water conservation to every village of the country. She said “Our district-Our water” programme will be launched for this purpose during India water week which will be held from 13 to 17 January next year. The Minister said that apart from creating awareness towards water conservation, the programme will also focus on locating every such place in every district of the country which requires water conservation.
The Minister said Government is committed to provide irrigation facility to every agricultural field in the country and if necessary, acts will also be amended for this purpose. She said Government will take technological assistance from countries likes Israel and Germany in this task. The water resources Minister said that she has observed that a large chunk of money allocated to State Governments remains unutilized due to strict Government rules and regulations. She said that she has directed her Ministry officials to find out solution to this problem at Ministry level itself. If required, we will go to the cabinet or even Parliament to seek amendments in the acts for this purpose, the Minister added.
Sushri Bharti said that yesterday she sat through the discussion on inter-linking of rivers. She said “Many good suggestions were made in this regard. There was not a single suggestion against inter-linking of rivers. People only expressed some apprehensions and problems which we me have to face. Except for one or two States, all other State were in agreement for this task. We will dispel the apprehensions of these States.” The three day event was organized by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to take up wide ranging consultations with the state Water Resources/ Irrigation Ministers, Secretaries and a range of other stakeholders. The focus was on refining policies of the Ministry to make them more people friendly and responsive to the needs of the states.
The first day of the conference was devoted for deliberations on the three flagship schemes being implemented by the Union Government through Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, viz., Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies and Flood Management Programme. New proposals, such as, Incentivizing States for Water Sector Reforms India Water Resources Information System and Hydrology Project III were also discussed. The second day of the conference was devoted to issues related to inter-linking of rivers in the country. It is proposed to deliberate on various aspects of inter-linking as the programme has evoked strong reactions from civil societies and environmental groups.
On the third and last day of the conference, deliberations were held on broader issues of water conservation and management with civil societies, non-governmental organizations and water user communities. The focus was on water Security, Humane Face to Water Projects, Farm Water Management and Rejuvenation of Water Bodies. Besides Union Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Rural Development Minister Choudhary Birender Singh, Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Prof. Sanwar Lal Jat, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Chandrababu Naidu about 300 delegates from various States and organizations attended the conference.