NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat deserved 90 per cent of the credit for the Yamuna rainwater harvesting pilot project.
Addressing a crowd during the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, Kejriwal said, “This is a unique experiment. On their own, farmers had been taking steps, but it is for the first time probably in history that a state government has initiated such a pilot on such a large scale. The approvals that we have got from so many authorities in such a little time... I would like to give 90 per cent of the credit for the beginning of the project to the Union minister”.
Kejriwal added that water conservation had to become a jan aandolan in Delhi. As per the government’s plan, the speed of recharging and the level up to which groundwater reaches will be measured. The results will form the basis for launching the project on a larger scale next year.
The digging will take place up to a metre and a half. Due to farming and other activities, water is unable to go below the surface. In this project, the soil will be removed from the surface, and after digging it will be possible for the water to percolate quickly and recharging of groundwater can be done.
Speaking on the occasion, Shekhawat said, “India’s water is the most contaminated in the world, and countries which get much less rainfall than India have made themselves water-secure nations. India constitutes 18 per cent of the world’s population, and if you include the cattle in it, then the Indian share goes up to 20 per cent. In the coming time, this pilot project can become a Delhi model to be showcased.”
Project to help study percolation
According to the government, experts in the field of water conservation and recharging differ on the speed at which water percolates through the soil. Their estimates vary from two metres a day to 10 metres a day. The pilot project will help in measuring the speed. The results of the pilot project will form the basis for launching the project on a larger scale next year.