Depleting groundwater: Kurukshetra preparing water resources plan

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, March 20

Kurukshetra is one of the top groundwater extractors among all districts in the state and to improve the groundwater table, the administration is preparing a district water resources plan.

As per the data, of the 433 gram panchayats in the district, 422 have fallen under the overexploited zone, indicating that the groundwater level in these gram panchayats has fallen to 30 meters below the ground level.

Groundwater level has depleted by up to 13 meters since 2010 in these villages.

While 11 gram panchayats fall under the pink zone (where water level lies between 20 to 30 meters below the ground level), only one falls under the light green zone (water level lies between 10 to 20 meters below the ground level) in Kurukshetra.

As per the district Irrigation Department, the dependence on groundwater has increased drastically over the years, leading to over-exploitation of the aquifers.

There is a shortfall (water gap between availability and extraction) of about 500 million cubic meters of water per year in Kurukshetra.

The state government has established the Haryana Water Resources Authority for the conservation, regulation and management of water resources in the state, under which the authorities have made district water resource planning committees across the state to prepare plans comprising block-wise and area-wise plans.

An action plan with a three-year perspective will be prepared and there will be a focus on the optimal use of groundwater and surface water resources, adoption of micro-irrigation techniques and crop diversification to reduce the demand for freshwater, efficient canal water supply system for less groundwater extraction, maximum reuse of treated wastewater to reduce dependency on freshwater, groundwater recharge system and rainwater harvesting structures rejuvenation of ponds and lakes.

Meanwhile, Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department Gurvinder Singh, said: “Different departments have been involved. Interventions, including using the defunct borewells of Public Health Department as recharge structures, recharging of the borewell near the Brahma Sarovar so that the excess water could be utilized, and rejuvenation of the Saraswati channel and Bibipur lake, will be proposed in the plan for the first year.

There will be a target to reduce the shortfall by 10 per cent in the first year and then, the target will be increased to 20 and 30 per cent in the next two years.

The plan is likely to be prepared in two months and will be submitted to the state authorities.

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