(a) whether the present water storage capacity is adequate to meet water requirement in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has fixed any target to augment water storage capacity in the country;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the schemes formulated by the Government to achieve the said target?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION (PROF.SANWAR LAL JAT)
(a) & (b) No, Madam. As against an assessment of live storage requirement of around 450 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM), by the Working Group on Water Resources of the Planning Commission for the 11th Five Year Plan, the live storage capacity of comp- leted dams in the country is about 253.388 BCM. The storage capacity of dams under construction is about 50.959 BCM. Further, the storage capacity of dams under consideration for construction by the respective State Governments is about 104 BCM.
(c) to (e) Creation of storage capacity is an ongoing effort of the Central and State Governments. Several measures for increasing the storage capacity are taken up by the State Governments, viz, construction of dams, check dams and farm ponds. Government of India supplements the efforts of the State Gover- nments for increasing storage capacity by rendering technical and financial assistance through programmes like Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme and Repair, Renovation of Water Bodies etc.