Question : CONVENTIONAL METHODS FOR WATER COLLECTION

(a) whether the Government have any proposal to revive the conventional methods for water collection;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) if not, the reasons therefor?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES (SMT. BIJOYA CHAKRAVARTY)

(a) to (c) The measures for water collection through conventional methods include construction of small , medium and large storage reservoir and water harvesting through micro watershed development programmes. India receives an average annual rainfall of about 4000 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) including snow. Out of this, 3,000 BCM occurs during monsoon resulting in an average annual surface run-off about 1869 BCM in the various rivers of the country. The utilizable runoff by conventional methods has been assessed as 690 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM). A live storage capacity of 176.73 BCM has been created by construction of large dams upto 1995 including about 3 BCM capacity created by medium & small dams. It has also been estimated that about 24 BCM of rain water is stored in 3.5 lakh minor irrigation tanks. Projects to add an additional capacity of about 75.42 BCM are under construction and 132.32 BCM are under planning.

Ministry of Rural Development, as part of the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme and Prime Minister’s Gramodaya Yojana – Rural Drinking Water, is promoting ground water recharge rainwater harvesting and other traditional methods of conserving rainwater like village ponds, contour trenches etc. Ministry of Agriculture through watershed management programme is implementing measures for increasing watershed retention capacity for rainwater. The Central Ground Water Board under the Ministry of Water Resources has also taken up pilot studies for artificial ground water recharge.