State Irrigation Minister Smt. Shruti Choudhry attended the All India State Water Ministers’ Conference in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Cabinet Minister said the country's water crisis and rain water harvesting were discussed in the conference. She said this conference will prove to be an important milestone in shaping India's water security future.
While addressing the conference, she said various schemes are going on in Haryana for water conservation. Adequate work is being done to deliver water to every district. For water management, the state government is continuously working on the three-R principles i.e. reduce, recycle and reuse.
The state has so far achieved water saving of about 4.6 billion cubic meters (75%) of the target set in the integrated water resources schemes. Among the major achievements, direct sowing of rice has been adopted on a large scale in about 4.54 lakh acres.
788 effective ponds are being renovated and 12,000 crore liters of wastewater is being used for irrigation and urban management. Many projects to use treated wastewater for agriculture are about to be completed. During this, she also urged the Government of India to expedite the final process of the MoU of the Kishau Dam Project.
She said this will give us 709 cusecs of water, which will be helpful in achieving our goal of water secure Haryana. She also demanded the construction of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal and Mavi Barrage from the Central Government. Important aspects of water management are being discussed in the conference, including effective governance, cross-border cooperation, innovative financing and community participation.
This conference will also emphasize on technical solutions, efficient water use and better coordination in various sectors. The conference, which will run till February 19, will take India closer to achieving the Prime Minister's vision of a water-secure, developed India by 2047 where access to safe and adequate water will be ensured for all citizens.