Rivers Linking Project To Be Completed In Five Years

Jaipur, May 29. The Chief Minister Smt. Vasundhara Raje has said that the linking of water bodies was crucial for development of the state. Acknowledging this the state government had initiated the ambitious project of linking all rivers and reservoirs in next five years. Pilot runs for Bunand river of Mahi Basin and Aahu of Chambal had been already started. Peoples’ and particularly farmers’ participation was very important for this project, she stated.

Smt. Raje was addressing the inaugural session of a training workshop ‘Four Waters Concept’ organised by the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department  in Jaipur on Thursday.

The Chief Minister said that different stakeholders including the general public and farmers would have a proper say in the newly initiated project for water management and  also  the ownership rights on the water. She said that management of water was the top priority of the state government and this was the reason the experts were consulted during past one year and the draft of the project was planned. With the support of all stakeholders this project would now be implemented, she observed.

Smt. Raje laid emphasis on ‘out of box thinking’ and efforts to be made in the mission mode for the success of the project. During her presentation, she termed rainwater, surface water, under-ground water and moisture in the soil as four kinds of water conceptualized in the theme of this project. She advocated for integrated management of all these forms of water. She suggested for development of small structures for water conservation, constructed at low-cost, which would take less time to complete and give best results.

The Chief Minister said that of the total 16.05 billion cubic meters of being received as rains in Rajasthan annually, about 4 billion cubic meter was getting wasted as run-off. For management of such water, a four-pronged strategy was required. As per this, running water should be made walk, walking water was needed to crawl, make crawling water stand and then allow standing water percolate into the earth, she said. This would result in recharge of underground water table and ensure utilization of every single drop of available water, the CM added.

During the workshop, water experts Shri T. Hanumantha Rao and Shri Shriram Vedire also gave presentations on techniques of water conservation and management, attempts made in this sector in different parts of the globe, possibilities of implementing the Four Waters Concept in the context of Rajasthan. They also argued for the construction of water structures such as percolation tank with NREGS works in the villages.

The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, Chief Secretary Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, Additional chief secretaries Shri CS Rajan and OP Meena, Principal Secretary Rural Development Shri Shrimat Pandey and other officials were also present on this occasion.

After the inaugural session, the Chief Minister witnessed a field demonstration with all other participants including the district collectors, the CEOs of Zila Parishads and watershed officials at a nearby water body in Kukas village. Water experts Shri Rao and Shri Vedire explained the idea of constructing mini water percolation tanks for recharge of groundwater table.

Smt. Raje also met and established dialogue with villagers who turned up in large numbers at the demonstration site. She assured the gathering that the state government would make all efforts to resolve the water crisis. When the women in the crowd complained about the salinity of drinking water in their village and presented a sample of the same, the Chief Minister directed district collector to collect the sample and get it tested.