Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 2: Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice, Abdul Haq today directed the officials to prioritize works under Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) for conservation of water resources.
Abdul Haq directed the officials to lay stress on water conservation by constructing small dams and water harvesting tanks in upper belts of villages to tap water for future use besides construction of check dams and percolation tanks. Minister was speaking during a meeting convened to review the IWMP.
Secretary RDD Nirmal Sharma, Director RDD Kashmir Gazanfar Hussain, Director Rural Sanitation, CEO IWMP, Deputy Director Planning Shabir Ahmad besides sectoral officers of IWMP were present in the meeting.
Minister said the aim of IWMP is to save every drop of water that falls on earth and coordinated efforts are needed to move forward in its mission. He said works should not be repeated as similar types of works are taken under MGNREGA, Irrigation or Agriculture Department.
Laying stress on creation of productive assets under IWMP, he said the works being executed under the program should not benefit an individual but should be beneficial for the larger section of society. He said vested interests should not be allowed to hijack our works at grass root level by suggesting construction of protection bunds which had become a norm in past.
Minister said aim of IWMP is to treat land to increase water table and convert barren land into cultivable land. He said the department will make short term missions to reach to the larger goal and hence the works will be prioritized according to needs. He said there is huge capacity of building irrigation dams in mountainous terrains of the State which can be used to tap flowing water and channelized for irrigation as well as drinking purpose.
He said the dams will help in rain water harvesting besides conserving soil & moisture while natural vegetation will also grow around the dams. Minister said in next phase the department will take other steps to achieve goal in consultation with the experts.
The Minister also reviewed the functioning of Swach Bharat Mission. He was informed that the program is being implemented in all the districts of the State. Officials said out of 7519 villages , 190 villages have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 635 villages are at saturation mode, adding that the 100 percent target will be achieved by the year 2019.
Minister was informed that 26 blocks will be made ODF within two months. Furthermore the department will construct four lakh Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) during the current financial year while 7.57 lakh IHHLs will be covered by the end of year 2019. Officials said 3.21 lakh IHHLs have been covered till date covering 3.20 lakh households.
Regarding the Solid Waste Management, Minister said the biggest challenge for the Government is the management of solid waste. He said numerous initiatives have been taken by the department for the purpose. He said many pilot projects have been initiated in many Panchayats and if successful, will be replicated in other villages.
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