| Highlighting drawbacks in providing free power to farmers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said government cannot continue to subsidise the economic and commercial use of water.
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| “Providing free power to farmers has encouraged excessive use of pump sets and excessive drawing of ground water. If there is economic pricing of power, there would be some incentive for conserving ground water,” he said inaugurating the National Congress on Ground Water here.
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| Water conservation and management could be better served through appropriate incentives and penalties, Singh said adding “we cannot continue to subsidise the economic and commercial use of water”.
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| “There are related policies that must be corrected to ensure water conservation, especially ground water,” he said.
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| Observing that human kind has not done enough to replenish, conserve and safeguard the sources of water supply, he said “on the contrary, given the threat of climate change and global warming, we face the real prospect of reduced supply of water”.
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| “This threat is of particular concern to us in India since we have, since times immemorial, depended on glaciers for our water supply in this part of sub-continent,” he said.
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| Noting that the challenge of water scarcity could only be addressed in an interdisciplinary, holistic and consensual manner, the prime minister regretted the country has not paid adequate attention to water both as a public and economic good.
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| Today there is even a greater need to address the challenge of water scarcity with a much greater sense of urgency, he said and asked the Advisory Council on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water to create widespread national awareness and a genuine national consensus on an equitable, efficient and environmentally sustainable water policy.
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| Referring to the challenges posed by floods and drought, Singh said while the challenge of floods was increasingly linked to poor soil conservation, lack of afforestation and inadequate infrastructure for water conservation, the problem of drought was a manifestation of inadequate investment in repair, renovation and maintenance of water bodies, recharge and rainwater harvesting.
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| “We are in the process of formulating a scheme for Dug Well Recharge in hard rock regions of the country covering seven states,” he said. There should be efficient, economical and rational use of water in irrigation, construction and other sectors, he added.
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| The prime minister also complimented the water resources ministry for instituting the “Bhoomijal Samvardhhan Puraskar” and the “National Water Award” aimed at encouraging people’s participation in ground water conservation.
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| Noted agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan said there was a need to inculcate water literacy among people as the crisis was more in the nature of water management than scarcity. |
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