Dehradun: An action plan for water supply should be made in the state keeping in mind the requirements of the next 30 years. Effective steps should be taken to conserve rainwater and increase the groundwater level. Public cooperation should be taken for the revival of water sources, rivers and water streams and suggestions of people working in this field should be taken and included in future action plans. Separate concrete plans should be made for drinking water, water storage and water conservation according to the requirements of the next 10 years and the next 30 years. Work should be done in this direction so that the water of Ganga is completely potable till the last border of the state. STP works should be done on the tributaries of Ganga. Public cooperation and suggestions should be taken for the cleanliness of Ganga. These instructions were given by Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami during the meeting of drinking water and water resources in the Secretariat on Thursday. The Chief Minister said that along with the revival of old water sources, new water sources should also be identified so that there is no problem of drinking water in summers. The Chief Minister said that water storage tanks and drinking water tankers should be cleaned regularly. He said that the quality of drinking water in the state should be tested from time to time. If all the quality standards are found to be correct, people should be made aware to use more water coming from natural sources. To ensure that people do not face any problem regarding drinking water, control rooms should be set up at the district level along with toll free numbers. Regular monitoring of public complaints should also be done at the department level.
The Chief Minister said that a list of personnel posted at the same place for 05 years should be made available. The concerned departments should coordinate and work to resolve complaints of road digging when a new drinking water line is laid. The Chief Minister directed the Chief Secretary to review the assets of various departments which are not being used and put them to proper use. He said that Uttarakhand has entered the Silver Anniversary year. There are immense possibilities of work in this young state. We have to pay special attention to innovations and best practices, our effort should be to make some such schemes in the state which become a model for other states as well. The work being done under SARA in Uttarakhand has also been appreciated by the Ministry of Water Power, Government of India. In the meeting, it was informed that special focus is being laid on Jal Sakhi, water reuse and drinking water management in the state. By connecting self-help groups in Jal Sakhi, a plan is proposed for billing, bill correction and maintenance of schemes at the local level. Along with this, for better management of water, water treated from STP will be used in gardening, irrigation, industrial sector, nursery, car wash, agriculture etc. Work is being done in this direction so that the water of Ganga and its tributary rivers flows forward in A category till the last border of the state.
Under SARA, the departments are working together to revive critical water sources. There is also a plan to measure the flow and discharge of rain-based rivers. In which IRI Roorkee and National Hydrological Institute will identify the work to be done in the rivers. Under the Uttarakhand Climate Friendly Rainfed Agriculture Project, the aim is to make mountain agriculture profitable and reduce the effect of greenhouse gas. For this, plantation will be done in the barren land of farmers. Along with this, there is also a plan to give benefit of carbon credit to the farmers.
