The Hindu : Kerala News : Rain pits to be dug to replenish water table

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 08, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Rain pits to be dug to replenish water table

By T. Ramavarman

THRISSUR, APRIL 7. In an innovative initiative to address the acute drought that the State is facing, a scheme has been drawn up to dig two-crore rain pits in different parts of the State in June when the monsoon sets in.

The Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) will be the coordinating agency for this scheme which has been initiated by the State Planning Board with the approval of the State Government and the UDF leadership. The scheme will be implemented through the local bodies in a campaign mode in collaboration with political and service organisations, voluntary agencies, and organisation such as the NCC, NSS and Scouts and Guides.

The Planning Board member, C.P. John, told The Hindu here that efforts would be made to convene a meeting of the State leaders of various political parties with the Chief Minister and other top brass of the ruling parties participating. Steps are also afoot to convene a meeting of top media personnel in the State to rope in their cooperation in this massive venture.

According to a draft of the scheme prepared by the KILA, the idea is to dig at least 1,600 rain pits in each ward of the local bodies. The KILA Director, P.P. Balan, said the broad idea is to dig rain pits of 2x2x2 feet in size. But the size can vary depending on the terrain of each area. He said the objective of the scheme was to popularise the principles of household-based watershed management and no subsidy would be provided for digging the pits. The owners of private lands should themselves dig the pits voluntarily, while in the case of public institutions the local bodies should take the initiative for digging such pits in a participatory mode. Water conservation committees would be formed at the block and panchayat levels for the implementation of the scheme.

Pointing out that most of the rainwater in the State drains out to the sea within 48 hours of rain, Dr. Balan said the basic objective of the scheme was to ensure percolation of large quantities of water into the soil by blocking its flow. This would in turn increase the water level in the wells and other reserves.

Mr John said the KILA would coordinate the training activities for the scheme which will be launched on the World Environment Day on June 5. Steps would also be taken to ensure that the soil that is removed while digging the pits is not washed off in the rain. He said digging two-crore pits was not an difficult task considering that there were about 65 lakh houses in the State. The Government was also planning to bring in appropriate laws to ensure that rainwater harvesting schemes were integrated into the plan estimates for new buildings before technical sanction was given.

Replying to a question, he said the issue of the deprivation of water to the State due to the anomalies in the inter-State river water agreements would not form part of the campaign for the scheme. The Planning Board Secretary, S.M. Vijayanand, said the local bodies could now utilise one-third of their plans funds for productive sectors for watershed management schemes.

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