Maharashtra State Groundwater Regulations To Soon Align With Central Act
Pune, 16th November 2022: The groundwater level is decreasing due to the increasing number of bore wells. In this regard, the Ground Water Survey and Development Authority (GSDA) will have to undertake a state-sponsored programme. Principal Secretary of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Sanjiv Jaiswal, suggested on Tuesday that if the next ten-twenty-year program and model plan can be implemented in the entire state and given to the government, positive efforts will be made for its approval. He also explained that the groundwater rules of the state government will soon be made following the groundwater law of the central government.
A symposium was held at Yashada on the occasion of the golden jubilee anniversary of the establishment of the Ground Water Survey and Development Mechanism. Director General of Yashada S. Choklingam, Commissioner of Sugar Shekhar Gaikwad, Mission Director of Jaljeevan Mission Rishikesh Yashod, System Commissioner Chintamani Joshi, Deputy Director General of Yashoda Dr Mallinath Kalshetty, UNICEF WASH Specialist Yusuf Kabir, Director of Maharashtra Remote Sensing and Usability Center Dr C. K. Joshi, and others, were present. Retired officers and employees of the department were honoured on this occasion. Photo album of subsurface rocks in Maharashtra State, Atal Bhujal Yojana information sheet in Maharashtra State was published. Also, an excel package of the Jaladhar test prepared by Channe was submitted to the system.
Jaiswal said, “Since the availability of water is limited, there is a need for public awareness on measures like an efficient use of water and water recharge. Rainfall is uncertain due to climate change. Therefore, in the coming time, the system will have to change the traditional role of looking at the water. Instead of the earlier only supply-centric approach, a demand-centric approach has to be taken into account.”
Mapping of water resources is done by the department. 25 to 27 thousand sources have been certified in the state in a short time to speed up the work of the Jal Jeevan Mission. Yashod said that the government has decided to strengthen some of these water resources under the control of GSDA and this work needs to be given a comprehensive form now. The work of GSDA needs to be related to people’s livelihood. Gaikwad said there is a need to undertake a comprehensive project that can be implemented for all 35 districts of the state.
Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil participated in the program through the television system. In the last 50 years, the work of groundwater survey and development systems has been remarkable in groundwater management. It is a system for studying and working on groundwater at the village level. The department has an important contribution to the progress of the state. The main objective of the Jal Jeevan Mission is to provide 55 litres of clean water per person. For this, the department has created the largest network of 178 water testing laboratories in the state. “Efforts are being made to implement the recruitment process soon to eliminate the shortage of manpower in this department,” said Patil.
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