Budget 2013: Highlights from the water sector
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation gets an allocation of ₹15,260 crore in the Union Budget. Finance Minister recognizes that there are 2,000 arsenic- and 12,000 fluoride-affected rural habitations in the country. An allocation of 1,400 crore has been made towards setting up water purification plants. Programs dealing with crop diversification and watershed management too have been allocated funds to reduce over exploitation of groundwater.
States initiate groundwater regulation measures
Gujarat government tables an irrigation bill in the Assembly to make it compulsory for farmers to seek license to draw water from canal or ground well beyond a certain limit and prescribes penal action against the errant farmers. Karnataka too issues an order banning drilling of borewells in 35 taluks of the state, following over-exploitation of the water table in these places
Drought hit Maharashtra
Losing patience with state government in providing relief, 41 villages in Maharashtra threaten to push for merger with neighboring Karnataka in view of the current drought. Disparity in water availability in the state is huge, where one half has no water for basic amenitie while the other half can literally soak in it. The state government plans to make it mandatory for companies to adopt measures such as water recycling and rain water harvesting in a bid to address the severe drought plaguing nearly one-third of the state. A shining example, Jalna district shows the way out of this man made scarcity and stays lush, green and water rich thanks to simple rainwater harvesting initiatives carried out by the villagers.
Landmark victory for environmentalists in Western Ghats
Karnataka High Court rules out any more projects in the Western Ghats, bringing cheer to the green brigade. It disposed off the writ petition filed by environmentalists in the state against the award of 20 micro-hydro electric projects that were to come up in the Western Ghats.
Low cost nano filter for arsenic free water developed
An affordable nano technology-based water purifier that can provide arsenic-free water at about five paise per litre has been developed by Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) . This will help address the problem of arsenic contamination, a threat to drinking water sources and an emerging health hazard in several parts of the country.