(a) whether the Government is aware that Karnataka has been suffering from worst crisis of shortage of water;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government is aware that standing crop sown in hundreds of hectare of land by farmers are on the verge of failure due to this and if so, the details and the facts thereof; and
(d) whether the Government is contemplating to take any long term measures to put an end to water crisis and if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) to (c) Central Water Commission monitors live storage status of 91 reservoirs of the country on weekly basis. Out of these, there are 14 reservoirs in Karnataka under CWC monitoring which have total live storage capacity of 23.49 BCM. As per Reservoir Storage Bulletin dated 11.07.2019, the total live storage available in these reservoirs is 6.18 BCM which is 26% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 45% and average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 29% of live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage during current year is less than the storage of last year and is also less than the average storage of last ten years during the corresponding period.
The Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being periodically assessed jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. In Karnataka, as per the 2017 assessment, out of total 176 taluks, 45 taluks have been categorized as ‘Over Exploited’ where Annual Ground Water Extraction is more than Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource.
(d) Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources including tackling of water crisis are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.
Contd…P/2
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Central Government has launched Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) in 2015-16 which aims to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc. During 2016-17, 99 on-going Major/Medium irrigation projects under PMKSY-Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) having ultimate irrigation potential of 76.03 lakh hectares have been prioritized in consultation with States, for completion in phases up to December, 2019. In the State of Karnataka, five Major & Medium ongoing irrigation projects have been prioritized in consultation with State Government for completion in phases by December, 2019 under PMKSY-AIBP.
Central Government has formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for Water Resources Development which envisages transfer of water from water surplus basins to water deficit basins to improve availability of water.
Government of India has launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan which is a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks.
Some of the initiatives/measures taken by Central Government to control ground water depletion and promote rain water harvesting/ conservation are available at the URL:
http://mowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_Jun2019.pdf
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