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Rainwater harvesting system a must for govt buildings: UP minister
Govt committed to groundwater management and its conservation; steps taken in this direction by implementing UP Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Act: Singh
LUCKNOW Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh on Monday called for mandatory installation of rooftop rainwater harvesting systems on government, semi-government buildings, and school-college buildings. He also underlined the urgent need to raise awareness among people about groundwater conservation.
Water conservation must be turned into a mass movement, he emphasised.
“Water is the lifeblood of our planet, sustaining all life forms. Groundwater is a critical natural resource that fulfills our needs but has become endangered due to excessive exploitation. It is as essential to us as oxygen. The government is working for a permanent solution to water crisis,” he said at the closing ceremony of Groundwater Week held at the Groundwater Directorate auditorium.
Groundwater Week was organized from July 16 to 22 to motivate the public on the importance of groundwater and its conservation. Various activities such as ‘Jal Kosh Yatra’, public meetings, morning processions, and competitions on water conservation in schools, and seminars were held to create widespread awareness about groundwater conservation.
Singh said the state government was committed to groundwater management and its conservation and significant steps had been taken in this direction by implementing the UP Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, tailored to local needs and groundwater conditions of the state.
While continuous efforts were being made under various government schemes to recharge groundwater, mandatory installation of rooftop rainwater harvesting systems on government, semi-government buildings, and school-college buildings had been included in the Act’s provisions, with ongoing effective efforts in this regard, he added.
Swatantra Dev Singh highlighted that to provide a permanent solution to water crises in development blocks, the Indian government introduced the Atal Bhujal Yojana in 20 blocks of Bundelkhand (covering districts like Mahoba, Jhansi, Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Lalitpur) and six blocks in western UP (covering districts like Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut).
Inspired by beneficial results of Atal Bhujal Yojana, the CM decided to implement a similar scheme, the Uttar Pradesh Atal Bhujal Yojana, across all districts of the state. Under this scheme, a water security plan will be prepared after studying the groundwater resources of every gram panchayat.
To facilitate this scheme, an online web portal developed by the groundwater department was launched. “With the help of this online portal, we will develop a scientific water security plan for all gram panchayats, marking a significant step towards water security for citizens of these panchayats,” he said.
Minister of state for jal shakti Ramkesh Nishad, Padma Shri awardee Uma Shankar Pandey, principal secretary (Namami Gange and rural water supply department) Anurag Srivastava, special secretary Arun Kumar and representatives from various institutions working in water conservation were present at the event.
