18.     Securing Good Quality Water in Drought Prone Areas

i) Networking of rivers, reservoirs, lakes and other water bodies existing in high rainfall areas which are prone to periodic flooding. Transferred water could be  used  for  ground  water  recharging  and  to  fill  up  dried  lakes,  water  storage structures  in  dry  areas  whenever  such  necessity  arises.  This  seems  a  viable option because the country receives more than one metre average rainfall in a year with lot of inter-regional variation.

ii) Surface  stored  water  may  last  only  for  a  few  years  whereas  more  than10,000   year   old   below   ground   waters  have   been   analysed   in   Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) by radio tracer technique. Ground water recharge in dry areas with introduced  water,  in-situ  and  ex-situ  rainwater  harvesting  will  be  sustainable provided  its  quality  is  retained.  Field, farm  or  contour  bunding,  treatment  of micro-watersheds, contour cultivation, vegetative barriers, gully plugs etc. can go a long way for conserving rainwater.

iii) Less exploitation of ground  water by resorting to  low  water demanding crops,  introduction  of  precision  micro-irrigation  techniques  such  as  drip  and sprinkler methods in overexploited/critical areas and matching water application schedules with critical growth stage concept may be prioritized.

iv) Collection, conservation and proper storage of rainwater for domestic use and  for  providing  life  saving  irrigation  is quite  effective.  Promotion  of  roof water harvesting, construction of nadis and khadins may be promoted. Periodic desilting and  renovation  of  village  ponds,  tanks  and  other  storage  structures through  NREGA, BRGF, MPLAD, IWMP funding provide ample opportunities. Strict implementation of watershed based agricultural development  sequenced  from  ridge  to valley  in  drought  prone  areas,  holds  a great promise.

v) Formulation  of  strict  guidelines  for judicious  use of  water  for domestic and  industrial  purpose  in  all  drought  prone areas.  These  guidelines  must  be backed by proper legal provisions. There is also an urgent need to declare water as a national asset.

vi) Conjunctive  use  of  ground  water  by  installing  bore  wells  in  canal command area will increase overall efficiency and sustainability.

vii) Recycling  of  used/waste  waters  after  proper  treatment  and  reclamation for  agriculture,  human  and  animal consumption.  The  domestic  sewage  water which is not mixed with industrial heavy metals can be directly used for raising agro-forestry,  industrial  bio-mass  and  parks.  Waters  having  high  fluoride  and nitrate   contents   particularly  in  Rajasthan   can   be   purified   by   using   filter assemblies developed by state government agencies. Highly polluted industrial effluents  can  be  used  for  irrigating  forest  plantations  after  working  out  their chemical  composition  and tolerance limits of tree  species.  This  will  be  a  safe disposal option because heavy metals will not enter the animal-human chain.

viii) Joint management of forest and arable land in forest fringe area to harness rainfall  and  minor  forest  products  requires inter-departmental cooperation  and coordination.

ix) Diversification into less water demanding cropping systems. Vast range of options are available to make preferred choices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                         Ministry of Agriculture, GOI.