NEW DELHI: As rainfall is not evenly spread across the country, the government is taking steps to create additional water storage capacities, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
“Out of the total of 36 meteorological sub-division in India, some receive normal rainfall, others receive either excess or deficit rainfall,” Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti said.
“Rainfall is not evenly spread around the country,” she said, adding that various steps have been taken to create additional water storages in the last two years.
These include schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana and Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, Repair, Renovation and Restoration of water bodies.
“Additionally, non-structural measures have also been taken through the development and augmentation of National Hydrology Project, Flood Forecasting Stations and Hydrological Observations,” she said during the Question Hour.
Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sanjeev Baliyan said that creation of water storage capacities cannot be done in one day and takes a few years.
Citing information from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bharti said the normal all-India area- weighted monsoon rainfall was 887.5 millimetre.
“The monsoon-2015 rainfall was 765.8 mm which is -14 per cent departure,” she said in a written reply.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors live storage of 91 reservoirs on a weekly basis.
“During the last two years, 13 projects having gross storage capacity of 37.764 million cubic metre (MCM) and live storage capacity of 30.46 MCM have been completed during 2015,” Bharti said citing data from the National Register of Large Dams.
Aasked whether any proposal from the Karnataka government about denotifying lakes has come to the notice of the Centre, Balyan replied in the negative.
The ministry would seek a report from the state if there is any such proposal, he said adding that denotifying of lakes is not good. (AGENCIES)
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