532 water harvesting structures to be completed till 2031
Shillong, Sept 17: With a long-term plan to contribute to water conservation, the state government has planned a Rs 515-crore project to construct water harvesting structures and reservoirs in the state.
The proposed externally aided project (EAP) under the Climate Adaptive Community-Based Water Harvesting Project in Meghalaya, sources said, the project aims the project aims to identify and construct water harvesting structures at 532 locations statewide in the next six years from 2024-25 to 2030-31.
The project has been funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in order to address the issue of water scarcity.
To a question, the sources said, “No project specifically for protection and conservation of Umiew and Ganol Basin. The protection and conservation of Umiew and Ganol Basins are not being implemented/undertaken by Soil & Water Conservation department.”
Meanwhile, the forest department is in the process of identifying water sources within Shillong region – Riat Laban Reserve Forest, Laitkor Protected Forest, Mawphlang Reservoir in East Khasi Hills, Khri River under Mairang C&RD Block, Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in Garo Hills, Umiam Water Reservoir in Ri-Bhoi, Umphung River in East Jaintia Hills and Myntdu River in West Jaintia Hills.
The Soil and Water Conservation department as part of the collaborative efforts with the PHE department will take up two critical water sources for conservation and rejuvenation works within the Greater Shillong Region, namely, Umpaitmaw under Mylliem Block and Madan Saisiej under Mawpat Block, sources informed.
It may be noted that the KfW- funded protection of vulnerable catchments in Meghalaya (MegARISE) project is still in the inception phase (preparatory stage).
In the Umiew Catchment, a total of 13 micro-watersheds will be treated, covering villages within this micro-watershed.
These villages fall under 5 C&RD Blocks: Khatarshnong Laitkor, Mawkynrew, Mawphlang, Mawryngkneng and Mylliem in the East Khasi Hills District.
Further, sources informed that the government through the MBDA/MBMA has initiated several measures to protect and conserve water sources. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to ensure sustainable water management and improve water availability for the city’s residents.
The key measures taken include field inspections and site assessments, drone surveys for water volume estimation, springs mapping and data collection, protection planning for water sources and stream documentation and river mapping.
