Rural pockets left high & dry as cities hog water supply

MUMBAI: If the state is faced with a drought-like situation almost all year round, water experts suggest it's time to rise above party politics and conce n trate on core water resource po licies and cropping patterns.

"State policies only pay lip service to equitable water distribution . They spell out water distribution for command areas (around dams and waterbodies ) and landholders, but fail to address pockets which fall outside either of these," says Mandar Sathe of voluntary organization Prayas that works on resource management . Experts say rural areas anyway lag behind cities where water share is concerned , and an erratic rainfall such as last year's sets them back. For instance, water utilization in cities such as Mumbai and Pune is roughly 90 litres per capita per day, compared to 40 in rural areas.

Experts say rainfall hasn't decreased for nearly a century ; the perennial water crises merely refl ects poor management of water resources. Augmenting irrigation network is predictably the topmost priority as only 17% of the state is irrigated. But there is need to address rainwater harvesting, regulate borewells and change cropping patterns, they say.

Renowned water expert Bharat Patankar say the state urgently needs a multipronged approach that involves completion of watershed development in a timebound manner, including village-level rainwater harvesting . "Special funding should be given to drought-prone areas for a limited term of three years to ensure that ongoing schemes, pending for years, are completed," he said. The demand for this approach has incidentally come from relief and rehabilitation ministerPatangrao Kadam. Take, for instance, the long-pending Tembu project, which once completed would pump life into Athpadi and Kadegaon talukas in Sangli, among the worst-hit drought-struck parts. A committee set up under planning commission member Narendra Jadhav had in 2008 also suggested piloting a form of crop insurance scheme to tackle such crises.

Farm activist Vijay Jawandhia from the farm suicide belt of Vidarbha underlined the need to tackle the cropping patterns as well. He said government reports themselves had pointed out how two-third of irrigated water was lost in percolation losses.

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Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan wants 11 talukas to emulate example

Clara Lewis, TNN | May 23, 2012, 05.38AM IST

MUMBAI: The water conservation department has prepared a proposal for implementation of the Shirpur pattern of water management in the 11 talukas declared as affected by water scarcity. Mantralaya sources said the proposal is likely to be put up before the state cabinet in its next meeting to be held on Wednesday.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has evinced keen interest in the Shirpur water rejuvenation project and wants to replicate it elsewhere in the state. "The state government has already sanc tioned Rs 10 crore each for the 11 talukas and some of it will be used to try out this project in these areas,'' said sources.

Last week, retired geologist Suresh Khanapurkar held a pre sen tation for all the district collectors and divisional commissioners at the Yashda training centre for district officials in Pune at the chief minister's behest.

"Nearly 81% of the soil in Maharashtra is basalt rock. What is needed is to recharge the underground aquifers, which we have successfully done in Shirpur. It is not an expensive method and results are visible within a year," said Khanapurkar , warning that the pattern will work provided there is no corruption.

Once the ground is saturated , water will remain on the surface. Once the streams and wells are saturated, the water will flow into the rivers and we will have water all year round. We will then no longer need to worry about droughts and floods ," he said.