The Haryana government has adopted a two-pronged strategy to increase water table in the state.
While one aspect of the plan involves a slew of quick-fire measures across the rural-urban divide aimed at harvesting and recharging this precious but drying up resource; the other revolves around a massive campaign to inform people, how to conserve every drop of water.
Stating this, a spokesman of the agriculture department said the government was actively considering a proposal to bring a piece of model legislation to regulate and manage level of groundwater. It will go a long way in fighting water shortage.
Listing out the steps taken to increase the water table, he said rain water harvesting structures were being constructed under the ?accelerated recharge of groundwater? scheme to recharge groundwater. About 400 structures have been constructed up to March, 2009 in schools, colleges, hospitals and judicial complexes in the state.
Then, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has made it mandatory on all government buildings and private houses in urban estates and municipal corporation areas, to build rain water harvesting structures where the roof-top area is 100 square metres or more. These will play a vital role in recharging the groundwater.
Besides, it has been made mandatory on all government buildings to provide eight-liter capacity flushing cistern, instead of the normal 10/12.5/15-litre capacity cistern.
Taking the water conservation battle right to the fields and farms, the government is resorting to a massive awareness campaign and taking measures to wean away the farmers from cultivating the summer paddy, which is a water guzzler.
The Haryana State Preservation of Sub Soil Act, 2009, which prohibits sowing and transplantation of paddy before May 15 and June 15, has been enacted, respectively.