HYDERABAD: Forum For Utilisation of Godavari Waters founder and former minister Marri Shashidhar Reddy has suggested to the state government to study the 'Four Waters Concept' for construction of watersheds prepared by retired irrigation engineer T Hanumantha Rao for water conservation.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Reddy said, "The Four Waters Concept" was successfully implemented at 4,000 places in Rajasthan. "Let the Telangana government send a team of officials to Rajasthan to study the low-cost technology and adopt it here," he said.
The Four Waters Concept, enunciated by Hanumantha Rao, consists of utilisation of four water resources _ rain water, surface water, soil moisture and ground water. His concept was successfully implemented in China.
Shashidhar Reddy, opposing construction of huge barrages as part of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, said that all new irrigation projects costing about ` 4 lakh per acre would provide water only for one irrigated dry crop during the rainy period of Kharif season. But Hanumantha Rao's Four Waters Concept would ensure water for raising three crops in a year at a meagre cost of ` 5,000 per acre, Reddy claimed.
"In the Four Waters Concepts, there are ten types of structural works _ all with earthen work and no cement use anywhere in the recharge areas. The four types of vegetative activities can be undertaken by farmers with just one-day training and no contractors will be required," Shashidhar Reddy explained. He pointed out that Maharashtra built big barrages with huge water storage capacity and pumped huge amounts of money for it. Yet, farmers' suicides were continuing in Maharashtra, he said.
"Construction of huge barrages or dams is not the solution to agrarian crisis. The construction of watersheds using Four Waters Concept will really help farmers and require minimum funds." Apart from major irrigation projects, there was no need to consider gigantic plans for inter-linking of rivers and expensive inter-basin transfer of waters, Shashidhar Reddy said.