Jal shakti Ministry lays roadmap to revive springs across country

The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, created by Modi government 2.O, has put out a comprehensive road map for spring rejuvenation across the country. This is necessitated as the spring discharge is declining due to increased water demand, changing land use patterns, ecological degradation and erratic trends in precipitation. Nearly 200 million people depend on spring water which is 15% of the population.

The ministry has argued that there is an urgent need to revive or regenerate springs and underground flows and to ensure sustainable and equitable use of the augmented groundwaters in the mountainous region.

Ministry of Jal Shakti, which is a coordinating agency for spring rejuvenation, has proposed a pilot project for spring inventory and rejuvenation in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.

The ministry has suggested that similar projects of spring water management can be taken up in rest of the country with the active involvement of ministries of rural development, tribal affairs, urban development and development of the northeast region. Furthermore, the ministry wants to study the experience of similar projects implemented by various state governments and non-government organisations in the Himalayan region, Western and Eastern Ghats, Aravallis and other mountainous ranges.

The spring rejuvenation roadmap envisages comprehensive mapping of springs and spring sheds, setting up of data monitoring system, understanding socio-economic and governance system of springs, carrying out an impact assessment and developing spring shed management and governance protocols. It has also proposed implementation of water security plans which include recharge augmentation, demand management and resource governance through a consultative process with all stakeholders and the community.

Water Army founder Prafull Kadam suggested that the spring rejuvenation exercise should be carried out by conducting extensive surveys.

"There is a need for clarity. If the water will be used for drinking purpose then the water supply department of individual state should implement spring rejuvenation. However, in case of water to be proposed for irrigation purpose then the minor irrigation department of all states need to be nodal agency,'' he noted.

According to the roadmap, the demand side challenges in times of limited resource availability will have to be addressed by augmenting the efficiency of water use. Further, at the local level, adequate focus needs to be laid on the involvement of the community, education of various stakeholders, especially the communities depending on spring water and those located in the recharge zone.