Shillong, Mar 3: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Monday raised concerns over the state’s escalating water crisis, stating that a recent study identified 792 critical water sources, some beyond rejuvenation, despite projects worth Rs 8,000 crore being implemented in the state.
The CM said the state government has set up a climate council, with him at the helm, alongside other water-related departments, to hold dialogues and address the crisis.
“Over 70,000 springsheds have been identified, of which more than 55,000 have been mapped across Meghalaya. Steps are being taken on a war footing to rejuvenate the 792 critical water bodies,” Sangma informed the Assembly during the question hour.
“After conducting a study, we found that 792 out of the 55,000 mapped springsheds, which serve as water sources for the Jal Jeevan Mission, are in a critical condition, with many completely dried up,” he added.
He said the soil and water conservation department has come up with a Rs 32-crore project and 67 springsheds will be rejuvenated to bring back life to these water sources.
According to the Chief Minister, 1,601 springsheds have been constructed in the last five years at a cost of Rs 46.62 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
“Each of the 1,601 springsheds are success stories in itself,” Sangma said while informing that the village employment councils (VECs), people and the community are monitoring and looking after these assets that have been created.
Sangma informed that with the availability of gadgets, we are able to monitor the level of water in the springs and almost 13,000 volunteers (VCFs) have been trained for the purpose.
He also informed that a 62 million USD project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is underway to rejuvenate springsheds, which includes the construction of 532 structures such as check dams.
Sangma added that Meghalaya is one of the few states to have a water policy in place, with over Rs 4,000 crore worth of projects.
In terms of annual water resources, the CM said Meghalaya receives about 60 billion cubic litres of water, with half flowing to Bangladesh and the other half towards Assam.
“Our concern lies in the overall storage and management of this vast volume of water, as well as its distribution. This is a large-scale issue,” he remarked, adding that water management is a continuous process that cannot be addressed in just one or two years.
Highlighting the success of Jal Jeevan Mission, Sangma said piped water connections to households increased from less than 5,000 in 2018 to almost 5 lakh at present.
Opposition Voice of the People Party MLA Arden Basaiawmoit urged the government to avoid non-forest activities in forest areas. (PTI)
