pro-poor, pro-nature & pro-women.
| "Integrated Water Resources Management Approaches: Global and National Scenario" - A Public Forum |
- by Mr.
A. Mohanakrishnan |
Moderator |
Advisor,
Water Resources, & Chairman, Cauvary Technical
Cell |
Government
of Tamil Nadu |
| We have made a very good definition of Global Water Partnership in our Technical Advisory Committee. I has the opportunity of through that paper and got it translated in the regional language and saw that the book reaches almost all the water planners in my department elsewhere. It is just my information of course. We had Dr.Judith Reevs explaining to us that after all what all we do must be sustainable and we all do that only for peoples' welfare. Dr.Shakthi Vadivelu has detailed experiences on tank management particularly in Karnataka and Dr.Gariyali showing us that how best how good they could manage the challenges they faced in the drought years when Chennai was dealing with water problem. Dr.Paul Appasamy has also dealt with the Urban Water Sector. |
| What I thought is that I conclude with the these our topic was essentially Integrated Water Resources Management approaches, global approaches to some extent probably he has covered and the national look approach. Of course we have talked enough about our own state. What best we are doing in different ways regarding the policies, the Indian national Water Policy which did not talk much about the Integrated Water Resources Management in their first policy note of in 1987. I will introduce a few causes in the 2002 amendment where there specifically said about how planning stage and implementation stage, there must be Integration we are calling this integration I used to think about this, some three or four years back we were not hearing about some Integrated Water resources Management. All that we have been told is conjunctive use. Use the groun water and surface water conjunctively. This what we have told and slowly we have learnt that it is not enough if that is concerned. We must have a total approach of the utilisation of water what is available in any system. In any river system. The Water Policy also talks about the river basin organisations and then probably that may be split up into lower smaller units and the self help groups trained to help us through the their own efforts. To get the best use of water we get I was only thinking I will make a small suggestion I expect the economist to raise this issue, of the nexus between energy and water. |
| Now that the energy that is available proably subsisdised the utilisation of water, particularly ground water as our gentleman has been saying has been developed much faster, we have been mining water all over and not trying to replace. All that god has given as rain is not able to recharge our aquifers. Today for information we have been having rains both in the south east monsoon to some extent and continuously for the past few days also here not even 10 cubic metres have been reached in any of the water resources, water systems, water reservoirs in Chennai today. |
| I was wondering even this morning I was asking I was saying as Public Health Department we are getting worried about it. As she also was worried about because she has to use that tis day. This is all because we have mined so much and therefore even this much of country rains for the past few days and it not able to make it up and bring water. Fortunately some areas in Chennai cities the ground water level seems to have gone up more with our rain water harvetsting systems and all that. And some people have started using up their wells. But what about the system? System has not started even giving a minimum quantity, particularly referred to a city. Now when we are looking at our National Scenario I think it cannot be much different in different places. As long as you are liberal with energy, either subsidise it or make it free. I expect the economist to raise this question, but I don't know for some reason, they have kept out of it. But if all say that water is an economic good it must have some cost. He was telling about trading. That's OK. Trading as long as somebody has got to work for it, expenditure, invest for it and the use for it, others trading concept. But normal water natural water it cant be priced. But how exactly you can control this. This is only by implementation. Sir I heared that the Third World Conference in Kyoto in 2003 a prince of Aramth was saying that is not as though that there is not much water in the world, but there is bad governance of water. I don't know what he meant. This water I read somewhere. Really we are not able to manage our own resources. There are some indication here, whether it will be possible for us to reallocate water from irrigation for drinking. Sir in our National Policy as it should be in other stations also only the water gets the first prioriy. We are willing to spare, reconcile ourselves to cutting down some irrigation is that going to happen, if that is necessary, for drinking water. In fact in one of the reservoirs had built the whole reservoir has been now committed only for drinking water of few towns because that has become very necessary. I had been advising the government that we have to sacrifice some land from irrigation. From to the extent we also have to see what we produce from th rest of the land, we are able to make up for our own food. If we are able to make up for the production we are able to get better produce from a drop of water. Naturally we have to sacrifice some part of the water for to be allocated for drinking water. It is necessary and is being done already. This is what I am trying to say. There may be some conflicts. But all those conflicts have got to be managed by the people, administrators. Even in Veernam, I know how many problems have come in, how many challenges have come in. They all have been to be satisfied for some reasons by giving, some reasonable things. |
| Then I com to the Water Law. I don't know at the Global Level there is a lot of talk about water law and water rights and I do know lots of compacts are coming on this. But Laws are there, implementation and at this implementation is becomes more difficult. That probably. So I conclude saying that this management on the global side. Sir, you keep on going stright way. You go on giving awareness, trying to raise awareness of the people. But ultimately as Dr.Shakthivadivelu and other have said the whole thing the initiative has got to come from the bottom, from th basin raise, probably from the village level. As I told you in the beginning as I started that way, sir that we had a system of integrated management in a village tank. It was there in some other form. It was not focussed not mentioned in that term, it was their tank and people there felt that it was their tank and maintained it properly. They saw to it that it was not polluted so badly. They use it for drinking water and for other domestic purpose also. You know you all here for quite some time. |
| So stands have been well preserved of course now you are all going to get used in to it for so many reason. At the village itself the integration in the population of the village has broken down to some extent. Unfortunately for so many reasons. That has got to be others. We have got to get to decide at this situation. |
| We have to think in terms of probably through the Self Help Groups or through some other organisations or through some other institutions. Keep tryng or through some other institutions to raise the awareness for the people. So that they must manage their own water field. Whatever they are able to get the best of the possible things to the best possible ways and se that the basin they have to manage. Whatever the are able to get the best of the advantage. Of course the watershed management and water reservoir management are in conflict again. I have been seeing this in some areas. New terms have been created which didn't get water at all just because watershed have been developed. This sessions will be there. But in the same conference they have been said, a good governors there should also be good sharing of water. Sharing among the sectors of use, not only sharing among the sectors of use but also among the people who are supposed to utilise the water or own the water. |
| I will end up with saying "Catch the rain while it comes. Scotch the pollution while it starts". |