Editorial on  Water resources conservation in Punjab.

Topic:- Punjab keen on setting up a regulatory body on Groundwater.

Background: Relentless depletion of Groundwater table in the state due to flawed water conservation policies.

The government proposes a few ideas about the management of groundwater:-

• The local government department would be empowered to fix and revise the water tariffs in urban areas. ( In earlier draft on this Policy, the government wanted to give this power to the proposed authority)
• But the tariff fixing power in Industrial and commercial areas would be given to the proposed groundwater authority.

Benefits of the proposed authority on Groundwater:-

• The users of water would have to pay water usage tax ( based on scientific calculation).
• The wanton wastage of water could be reduced.
• The awareness among various stakeholders could be spread.

Limitations of the draft policy:-

• The AGRICULTURAL sector is still out of its coverage. ( Which is responsible for 90% of the water consumption.)
• Overlapping of Authorities can make the functioning of this system very Difficult. ( E.g. local authorities and the regulatory body can engage in needless squabbles and arguments.

Solutions:-

• The Mihir Shah Committee recommendations could be referred to in Punjab.
• The waterman of India, Rajender Singh could be involved in the proposed Policy.
• UN-Water and other technical institutions can be invited for helping in this regard.
• IIT – Ropar can be roped in for providing state of the art solutions.

(Source:- The Tribune)

Question:- Evaluate the water resources conservation steps by Punjab.

Answer in the comment section.

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