Works taken up as part of NREGA scheme were found to help maintain ground water levels, aiding crop productivity

The UPA government’s flagship employment guarantee programme can play an important role in conserving natural resources and sustaining water supply and food production, according to a study. Conceived to provide livelihood security for the rural poor, the scheme can also help reduce and counter the impact of climate change in villages, according to the study, “Environmental Benefits and Vulnerability Reduction through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme” by IISc, Bangalore in collaboration with the rural development ministry and the German international co-operation agency, GIZ.

The groundwater level in Nashik district has dipped by 1.37 metres below the average level for the last five years, ringing alarm bells among the authorities concerned.

Notwithstanding the implementation of the Himachal Pradesh Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act, the measure has failed to check overexploitation of groundwater du

Of the 7.2 lakh registered properties in Pune, only 1,411 have installed rainwater harvesting systems as of July 2012, statistics with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) show.

ALLAHABAD: In a novel approach aimed at recharging depleting ground water status in the arid land of Bundelkhand, the Banda district administration has been interacting and seeking suggestions from

Aimed at making Kannur water-rich district in four years

The Kannur Water Conservation Society (KWCS) will launch long-term groundwater recharge activities in view of the depletion in groundwater level and contamination of water resources in the district that raise concerns about a severe drought situation. The society, which was established in 1995 and is now chaired by District Collector Rathan Kelkar, has chalked out a comprehensive water conservation scheme to be implemented in the district to make Kannur a water resources-rich district over the next four years.

To achieve its goal of ensuring water security in the city, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is planning to conduct a detailed audit of the rainwater harvesting system across Chennai. This comes in the wake of Metro Water preparing a contingency plan to ensure uninterrupted water supply to the city as water levels in reservoirs are slowly dipping.

The development regulations of the CMDA states that rainwater harvesting is mandatory on all premises. The rainwater harvesting structures installed during the AIADMK regime in 2003 helped increase the ground water level in the city, as per a Metro Water monitoring report in 2011.

The district administration, Kaithal, has been asked to regularise drinking water connections in all 62 villages of Kaithal block by year-end under a Central pilot project for recharging ground water.

These directions have come from Sujoy Majumdar, Director, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India. He has also asked the administration to put taps on all connections so as to ensure uniform supply of drinking water in both rural and urban areas.

Survey in March records steady depletion

While skyscrapers increase in height and density at the cost of natural water resources like paddy fields, the groundwater level in the district has touched a new low this year. A March-2013 survey by the Groundwater Department of their 54 sample wells across the district show a steady depletion, ranging from 1 m to 20 cm, in groundwater level.