THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has become the first state in the country to prepare a water budget based on local self-government bodies by calculating water availability and consumption, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
He was releasing the public water budget and inaugurating the rehabilitation project of the Western Ghats drainage networks as part of the third phase of the campaign ‘Ini Njan Ozhukatte’ (Let me flow now) at Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
“Studies indicate that water availability is decreasing in Kerala. Therefore, it is necessary to devise programmes to ensure water storage and calculate water consumption,” the chief minister said.
He also said the water budget includes the amount of water that can be received in each area based on its population consumption. “Despite having 44 rivers, backwaters, streams, and water bodies, many parts of the state are facing severe water shortage during the summers due to climate change and global warming. People’s Water Budget is a scientifically implemented scheme to create awareness among people against wastage of water and to promote water conservation,” Pinarayi said.
The water budget is formulated by a committee comprising representatives of the state water resources department and experts from information technology field, with the help of the Centre for Water Resource Development Management.
In the first phase, 15 block panchayats and 94 grama panchayats prepared the water budget. It is expected to be finished in other panchayats in a time-bound manner, Pinarayi said. The involvement of the local self-government institutions should be ensured in such a way that the water obtained through the summer rains can be used for agriculture and irrigation. “Ini Njan Ozhikatte is a project conceived for the restoration of streams and rivers. The project was prepared in the context of the damage caused by the flood,” he said. “Since this government came to power, 15,119km of watercourses have been revived,” he said.