Kerala   

Draft water policy accords top priority to domestic use

Thiruvanathapuram: The draft water policy of the State gives topmost priority to domestic use while allocating water among various categories of users.

The document, handed over to Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran by Principal Secretary for Water Resources K. Jayakumar, who was chairman of the drafting committee, here on Saturday, accords second priority to agricultural use. The other areas in their order of priority are power generation, agro-based industrial use, industrial and commercial use and other uses.

The document points out that the necessity of conservation, development and management of water resources based on the concept of watershed is inevitable for maintaining the ecosystem and integrity of rivers and river basins of Kerala.

It is of special importance to Kerala because of the fragility of the ecosystems, high density of population and changing water use habits. The government should prioritise availability of water to vulnerable groups and take steps for the sustainable management and development of each river basin.

The document stresses the need for carrying out performance evaluations of all inter-State water sharing arrangements periodically and initiating necessary action for protecting the interests of the State.

It wants any further inter-State water sharing to be mandated by the Legislature.

Coming to legislation, the draft wants the provisions and adequacy of regulations enacted in the water sector to be reviewed and modified, if necessary.

It calls for enacting suitable laws wherever necessary.

Some of the aspects to be brought under new enactments are water rights, prioritisation of water use, groundwater exploitation, bulk supply, water harvesting, transfer of irrigation systems to users, use of irrigation water for drinking purpose, water pricing and subsidy norms, water conservation and harvesting and reconstitution of institutional mechanism.

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