According to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala has become the first state in the country to prepare a water budget based on local self-government bodies by calculating water availability and consumption. On Monday, he released the public water budget and inaugurated the Western Ghats drainage network rehabilitation project as part of the third phase of the campaign ‘Ini Njan Ozhukatte’ (Let me flow now) at the Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. According to studies, Kerala’s water availability is dwindling. As a result, programmes to ensure water storage and calculate water consumption are required, according to the chief minister. He also stated that the water budget includes the amount of water that each area can receive based on population consumption. Despite the fact that the state has 44 rivers, backwaters, streams, and water bodies, many parts of the state face severe water shortages during the summers due to climate change and global warming. The People’s Water Budget is a scientifically implemented scheme to raise public awareness about water waste and promote water conservation, Pinarayi explained. The water budget is formulated by a committee comprising representatives of the state water resources department and experts from information technology field, with the help of the Centre for Water Resource Development Management.
In the first phase, 15 block panchayats and 94 grama panchayats prepared the water budget. It is expected to be finished in other panchayats in a time-bound manner, Pinarayi said. The involvement of the local self-government institutions should be ensured in such a way that the water obtained through the summer rains can be used for agriculture and irrigation.
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