September 18, 2018
Bangla Govt to come up with ‘water budget’ for agriculture and industry
To further augment the progress of the agriculture and industry sectors, the Bangla Government has decided to create a ‘water budget’, arrived at by calculating the block-wise requirements of water for various activities related to the two sectors.
Scientists of IIT Kharagpur will assist the Government. Technology, such as satellite imaging, will be used to ascertain the amount of groundwater, as well as underground water, at any place.
The water budget includes listing of the amount of water resources available. According to a senior State Government official, there is no central database where this information can be accessed. Hence, the need for such a database.
The official pointed out that 7,966 crore square metres of water is available annually in the State, whereas the demand has already crossed 9,100 crore square metres. Moreover, in 33 blocks, the level of underground water had fallen to dangerous levels.
According to the official, there are two ways to increase the pace of industrial growth through a water budget: firstly, where there is less water available, to encourage the setting up of industries that require less water, and secondly, to optimise the requirement of water through the introduction of technology and rationalisation.
