By Anil Sharma, IANS
Jaipur : Rajasthan authorities are identifying wells in the desert state that they can take on rent to tide over the drinking water crisis that looms every summer.
After identifying the wells, the government will collect water samples and if they are found worth consuming, it will rent the wells and make arrangements to supply water to local residents.
“The scheme to supply water will start from summer in villages where we still do not have a public water distribution system,” B.R. Meena, a senior official of the water resources department, told IANS.
“Identification of wells has already been taken up and modalities are being worked out,” he said.
The department sends water tankers to villages during summer and with barely three months for the mercury to climb to scorching heights, the department has started identifying villages where water will be transported.
The state, with an area of 34.271 million hectares (ha), has more than 10 percent of the country’s total geographical area.
About five percent of India’s population resides in the state which has more than 15.7 million hectares of land under agriculture.
Rajasthan is one of the driest states and its total surface water resources are only about one percent of the country’s resources.
Its rivers are rain-fed and are identified by 14 major basins, which are divided into 59 sub-basins. The surface water resources are confined to its south and southeastern regions.
A vast tract in its western region does not have any defined drainage basin. Moreover, groundwater is also being overexploited and the water table in some areas is going down at the rate of three metres every year.
Looking at this, the government is also planning to utilise water resources to the maximum possible extent, including surface water – local and imported – groundwater and wastewater, for optimal economic development and social well-being.
“Motivating and encouraging water conservation and the introduction of water-saving devices and practices in every sector and educational campaigns are our priority,” the minister said.
“We also plan to stress on recharging ground water aquifers to mitigate the crisis of drinking water supply for industrial and other purposes,” he added.