Kerala adopts water budget for first time in India: To Tackle water scarcity issues in summer days

The details of the first phase of the Water Budget in the state covering 94 grama panchayats in 15 block panchayats were unveiled on Monday by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. An abundance of rivers, streams, backwaters and a good amount of rainfall contribute to the lush greenery in Kerala, many parts of which yet face acute water scarcity when it comes to the summers. And this has led to the state adopting a Water Budget the first of its kind in the country.Kerala adopts water budget for first time in India: To Tackle water scarcity issues in summer days.

The details of the first phase of the Water Budget in the state covering 94 grama panchayats in 15 block panchayats were unveiled on Monday by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Kerala CM Vijayan speaks about scarcity issues in state.At the event, Vijayan said that the state was witnessing a reduction in water availability and therefore a water budget would be helpful in properly utilising the resource and preventing wastage.

Water experts welcomed the initiative and said it would help the state ascertain the demand and supply of the precious liquid resource and apportion it accordingly, as the problem was not one of availability, but of management.

What do experts say about this initiative?

“It is not an issue of scarcity, it is a managerial problem,” said Dr Sunny George, a limnologist of international repute and the Director of the SCMS Water Institute. “In order to manage a resource, you first need to quantify it. That is the basic principle of managing any resource,” he added.

“If we try to manage a resource without quantifying it, it would be like fighting our own shadow. It would be difficult. If we get data of demand and supply, we will get a correct picture. We will be able to plan appropriately. So budgeting would be very helpful. The Water Budget is definitely a good initiative,” he told.

He said that besides the natural sources like the numerous rivers, lakes, ponds, streams and the heavy rainfall the state gets during the monsoon season starting May, there are around 46 lakh open wells in Kerala.

However, with the arrival of piped water connections, people have forgotten about the wells which were dug up at private expense and are a source of water. “So these wells need to be included in the Water Budget data as a source of water supply,” he said. T N Seema, Coordinator of ‘Navakeralam Karma Padhathi’, also shared the same view that there was surplus water in the state, and yet it faces a shortage of the resource during summers.

This was revealed during the water budget exercise carried out in the 94 grama panchayats of the 15 block panchayats. “The volunteers, resource persons, and technical committee members have considered all the water sources in each panchayat, including rainfall, wetlands, canals, and other water bodies, and also calculated the demand from humans and animals, agriculture, and industries. “So, specific recommendations have been provided to each panchayat as part of the Water Budget,” she said.

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