Himachal CM favours water harvesting in villages

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Thursday favoured making rooftop rainwater harvesting structures compulsory in rural areas.

"The rooftop rainwater harvesting structures should be made compulsory in rural areas and field of activities of various departments be demarcated for effective implementation of water resources development and management," he said.

Presiding over a meeting of the state water management board, the chief minister said proper physical audit of all the water harvesting structures, check dams, canals, water tanks and other similar works being undertaken by various departments would be done.

"All the departments would have to maintain full record of the structures and the works undertaken."

Water would be a scarce commodity in the coming days and every drop of water should be saved, he was quoted as saying in an official statement.

He said many rivers and rivulets in the state were usually in spate during the monsoon and remained dry or with little water during the winter and summer.

The water should be stored in the monsoon and conserved along the bank of the rivulets for meeting the requirements in the summer, the chief minister said.

Citing the example of Kinnaur district where numerous water tanks and harvesting structures have been constructed, he said the focus should be on providing re-used and treated water for irrigation and domestic purposes.