A Panel Discussion was held on Lok Sabha TV at 1 PM and 4 PM on the 24th of January 2020 to discuss provisions for Water in Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman’s Budget Session in Lok Sabha due on 1st February. The Program was anchored by Parakram Singh Shekhawat. The panelists were Arun Tiwari, Manohar Khushalani and Himanshu Thakkar. They all went into their expectations from the budget with respect to Budget Provisions for Jal Shakti – Water. 

The anchor began the discussion with a small introduction of the Ministry of water resources (Jal Shakti Mantraley), Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the troubled state of water quality and availability through the country, and its ever arising complications. Mr. Arun Tiwari elaborated on our lack of efforts in successfully harvesting rainwater and sustaining groundwater levels, highlighting the lack of regulations surrounding these harvesting methods. The importance of sustainability was highlighted as well unless groundwater is recharged, regulated and the focus needs to be shifted to Sustainability. 

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation have been merged into the Jal Shakti Ministry under the second term of the Modi government and the Jal Shakti Ministry was allocated Rs 28,261 Crore, an 8% increase. A 10 pointer vision for the next decade was listed out by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She elaborated that the Jal Shakti Ministry will manage the country’s water resources and water supply in an integrated holistic manner, and will work towards supplying all rural households with water supply by 2024. In the LSTV discussion, Manohar brought forward a set of important points such as the minimal increase in the budget allocated, the unsanitary sewage system, and lack of stormwater drains. He also insisted that along with budget allocation, our national lakes need to be taken care of efficiently and resurrected, and the need for the development of rural handicrafts and the need for a River Basin Authority, for the systematic distribution of water. 

The Atal Bhujal Yojna, is a scheme, also known as ‘Atal Jal’ will promote panchayat-led groundwater management and behavioral change with a primary focus on demand-side management. The scheme is aimed at

• doubling farmers’ incomes,
• promoting participatory groundwater management,
• improving water use efficiency on a mass scale,
• improving cropping pattern and
• promoting efficient and equitable use of groundwater resources and
• behavioral change at the community level.

Official estimates state that over INR 9 crores (90 million) toilets were constructed from 2014 when the Swacch Bharat Mission was launched under the Modi government as one of its flagship schemes. Yet, a government survey in 2017 showed that 6 out of 10 toilets built under the Swacch Bharat Mission did not have water supply, and were hence unusable.

The chemical fertilizer farming is allocated INR 80,000crores, while the green revolution farmers are allotted INR12,000crores but the Organic manure farming is allocated only INR 2 Crore, Manohar Khushalani pointed out, the obvious lack of financial support to organic farmers led to Cancer and other diseases in the cities of Punjab and Harayana, he insisted on the importance of WaterShed Management, an initiative taken by Anna Hazare previously. 

The discussion shed light upon various important aspects of Budget allocation for water conservation and also examined the various areas where more efforts are required for sustainability.

You can watch the informative debate here.

You will find more details on the next debate on LSTV on the topic of Atal Bhujal Yojna, Please find the entire debate here.

This OneVorld Video explains some steps we can take to minimize plastic on our planet which is an ever-increasing problem nowadays. All of us can contribute a little towards our fight against plastic and opt for plastic alternatives to not just minimize plastic but to reuse it so that more addition of plastic in our environment can be stopped.

Plastic, a horrible yet extremely useful invention for mankind has now become a significant part of our lives. We are all aware of it’s ill-effects and can do our part to protect the environment from it.

So what should we do ?

Well, there are some small things we can do or should I say small things everyone SHOULD do?

One of the first things we do after waking up is brushing our teeth, which we usually do with our plastic toothbrushes. After some time they become useless and we have to throw them away. It creates a lot of non-biodegradable waste. In this case, we can use bamboo toothbrushes which are usually made up of natural materials like bamboo and charcoal. So they are far more accessible to dispose of than regular toothbrushes.

EXTRA TIP: We can also learn how to make toothpaste at home so that toothpaste tube waste can also be decreased.

Coming up next are the food containers. It’s harmful to store food in plastic containers because a lot of them release harmful chemicals like BPA and phthalates. But a lot of people still use them because they are cheap and easy to use. But life is more valuable than anything else. That’s why we should use better alternatives than plastic containers. Stainless steel glass and silicon containers are very reliable in this case and they are easy to dispose of too.

EXTRA TIP: For dry food like bread and chapatis, cloth food containers are very useful

Moving on, the one form in which plastic is used the most is carry bags and waste produced by them is enormous. But the good thing is they have a lot of alternatives too. Paper, cotton and canvas bags are good alternatives of such bags. They are extremely reusable too.

EXTRA TIP: We should try to reuse the polybags we already have.

Our earth is a beautiful planet and it’s really sad that we are the ones destroying it. It is our responsibility to protect it. Everyone should do their part even if it’s too small!

The last two years have been difficult for residents of India’s eastern city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu State. Monsoon rains have failed for two years and the city has braved a heat wave compounded by water scarcity.

On 19 June 2019, the state government announced that Day Zero—or the day when the city reservoirs were empty—had been reached. Local officials then announced that they would transport 10 million litres of water daily by train from 200 kilometres away to provide enough water, especially for the poor, to survive.

Chennai’s water stress is not unique to the city. From Cape Town, South Africa to Iran’s port city of Khorramshahr, individuals and communities in numerous countries worldwide have in recent years been suffering from water shortages.

Read More

Safia Khan has done tremendous work in the area of Bundelkhand heritage and Environment. Here she discusses how ancient Water bodies can be revitalized or restored

Prof. Manohar Khushalani, Editor, OneVorld, was interviewed extensively by the wire service, ANI, on the looming Water crisis in India. His interview forms part of it’s report circulated to all newspapers and news media in India and abroad.

He advocated water harvesting at community and individual level, quoting his own example, about how he built his own water harvesting in his home, as far back as 2003

No drinking water will be available by 2030 if we don’t conserve now: Report

The government is depending upon the desalination in Chennai which is very expensive also however they forget that the earth is a limited planet and oceans will dry. What will we leave for our children and grandchildren? We may have a lot of money but we cannot ask our children to drink money instead of water. Using ocean water and desalination is not the solution but water harvesting is” said former director of National Water Academy Professor Manohar Khushalani.

“It is a collective responsibility of the government and people of the country to save water and contribute to increasing the groundwater levels,” he added.

Mr Khushalani is presently working as professor in Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi and has also authored books ”Irrigation Practice and Design in five volumes”. (Published by Oxford & IBH Sponsored by NBT)

“It is not very difficult and expensive to harvest rainwater. One can easily do it commonly in group housing societies or individually. We will just have to make our heart little bigger and more responsible to be thinking about our next generation,” the professor told ANI.

He has made a water harvesting structure inside his residence, in which he has been harvesting rainwater since 2003, helping the raise the groundwater level in his area.

“I made this water harvesting structure in 2003 when my sixty feet deep tube well dried up. I decided to put all rain water collected on my terrace into it. There are two conditions in doing rainwater harvesting. Number one, first rainwater should not go into it, secondly filtered water should go into the ground otherwise it will contaminate the groundwater. The rainwater which is collected on my terrace flows through a pipe which is connected to the bore. After sixty feet, the soil filters the water by itself. The water which falls from the terrace or from height should be harvested but not the water on the roads during rains because it carries lots of dirt with it which may lead to groundwater contamination,” he said.

Mr Khushalani further suggested that the regions which are facing drought should not do farming of sugarcane as it absorbs a lot of groundwater. “By becoming aware today we can avert the danger tomorrow,” he concluded.

To see the original report click on the link below

Manohar Khushalani Recommends Water Harvesting

The ANI report has been featured in a large number of newspapers such as Pioneer, NDTV, First Post, New Indian Express.

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/no-drinking-water-will-be-available-by-2030-if-we-dont-conserve-now-report20190620014626/

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/jun/20/no-drinking-water-will-be-available-by-2030-if-we-dont-conserve-now-1992810.html

http://www.pioneernews.in/21-indian-cities-will-run-out-of-groundwater-by-2020-report

https://www.firstpost.com/india/indias-metro-cities-will-run-out-of-groundwater-in-next-10-yrs-claims-niti-ayog-report-40-populace-will-have-no-access-to-drinking-water-by-2030-6850271.html

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/21-indian-cities-will-run-out-of-groundwater-by-2020-report-2056129

Enough has already been written about deforestation, CO2 emissions, global warming, potential threat of potable water scarcities, depleted natural resources, ecological balances… and the list goes on and on!!! It’s high time that the millennials, the GenXs and the GenYs are made aware of the destruction that has been done and the stance that needs to be taken. I believe that the best way to make them realize this is to take them to such forests and let them explore its natural flora and fauna in its gorgeous galore. It’s time to ‘let them free’, to develop the natural survival (and might I add safety?) instincts. This forest day, no pledge could be more promising or inspiring than taking your child to a natural habitat and watch him play, fall, climb, grow and learn using just natural instincts. It is this development that will ultimately take them from expected to extraordinary. It’s the best way to make them realize the gravity of it all. And perhaps we could hope to see them enjoy the natural singing and dancing of these birds as well!!! Happy Forest Day!!! May the exploration begin…

read more at

https://www.ask-ehs.com/blog/2017/03/from-expected-to-extraordinary/