Question : SHORTAGE OF WATER

(a) whether various parts of the country are facing acute water shortage;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the State-wise names of the various projects implemented by the Government to resolve their problems during each of the last three years and current year and success achieved in this regard?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES AND MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI VINCENT H. PALA)

(a) to (c) The water availability of the country has been assessed as 1869 BCM. Due to topographical constraints and hydrological features utilizable water has been estimated to be about 1123 BCM comprising 690 BCM of surface water and 433 BCM of replenishable ground water. The availability of water is highly uneven both in space and time. Rainfall is mostly confined to only about three to four months in a year and varies from 100 mm in the western parts of Rajasthan to over 10000 mm at Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. The gap in the availability and demand for water due to temporal and spatial variations are addressed through water resources projects for conservation of water and through diversion projects which are undertaken by respective State Governments. Storage capacity of about 225 billion cubic meter (BCM) has been created in the country so far. The total estimated storage capacity of the various projects under construction is about 64 BCM. Further, the State Governments have identified various other schemes for investigation and planning and the estimated storage for such schemes is about 108 BCM.

Government of India provides technical and financial assistance to State Governments with a view to encouraging sustainable development and efficient management of water resources through various schemes and programmes.Central grant is provided to States under various schemes/programmes of Ministry of Water Resources namely “Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP)”, “Command Area Development and Water Management Programme (CAD&WM)”, and “Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies”. Ministry of Water Resources also encourages measures for sustainability of water resources particularly ground water resources. Demonstrative schemes for rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge to ground water have been taken up by Central Ground Water Board. The scheme for “Artificial Recharge of Ground Water through Dugwells” was also implemented during XI Plan. Central grants released to States during last three years and the current years are as under:

(Rupees in Crores)
Name of Schemes/Programmes	During last three years	Current year	2007-08 to 2009-10
Accelerated Irrigation	19989.52	3669.70
Benefits Programme (AIBP)
Repair, Renovation and	485.47	250.41#
Restoration of Water Bodies 
Command Area Development &	1015.13	346.54
Water Management (CADWM)
Programme
Artificial Recharge	280.59	-
of Ground Water through
Dug wells

Name of Scheme	Achievement during the period 2007-08 to 2009-10 
AIBP	#	Creation of irrigation potential of 22.81 lakh	hectares through AIBP assisted projects.
#	Completion of 41 major & medium irrigation projects.
#	Completion of 2710 minor irrigation projects.
RRR of Water Bodies	#	Restoration of 1085 water bodies.
CAD&WM	#	Coverage of 1.21 million hectares of culturable	command area with command area works.