India Water Week – 2017 Inaugurated 285 New Irrigation Projects to be Taken up by Next Year Says Gadkari

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated India Water Week – 2017 in New Delhi today.

Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said that 27 PMKSY projects will be completed by this year. He said 285 new irrigation projects will be taken up by next year to provide irrigation for 1 crore 88 lakh hectare of land. Gadkari said drip irrigation and irrigation through pipeline will be the priority areas for the Government as this will save large amount of water and also cut down the cost involved in acquiring land. The Union Water Resources Minister said water, power, transport and communication are the four most important pillars of development. He said Government is keen to provide safe drinking water to every household and irrigation water for every farm. In this connection he referred to the recent inauguration of Sardar Sarovar Project by the Prime Minister, which will provide water to over 4 crore people and help irrigate over 8 lakh hectares of land.

Gadkari said that Inter linking of rivers is very important to save people from floods and droughts. He said 30 Projects for river linking have been approved out of which work on three projects namely Ken- Betwa, Par- Tapi Narmada and Daman Ganga Pinjal will start within three months. The Minister said Government is exploring the possibility of creating a large fund for inter liking of rivers. Gadkari said new ways have to be found for use of treated waste water. He said that he has requested the Power Minister to explore the possibility of using recycled water for NTPC power plants. He emphasised the need for inventing innovative methods for using 70% of river water which goes into seas. Referring to Pancheswar Project the Minister said the Secretary of Ministry Water Resources will be visiting Nepal soon to sort out pending issues. He expressed the hope that work on the project will start soon. Gadkari expressed the hope that some good suggestions will come out from the deliberations and discussion during India Water Week.

Union Minister for Drinking and Water Sanitation Sushri Uma Bharti in her address said that Government is sincerely working to make available safe drinking water to every household of the country and irrigation facility for every farm by 2022. She said, “ It is a matter of grave concern that ground water level is going down critically. We have misused and abused ground water. We will have to respect water, rivers and ground water and make our rivers Aviral and Nirmal.”

Addressing the inaugural session of India Water Week – 2017 Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Arjun Ram Meghwal said that water and energy are two crucial resources whose conservation and optimum utilisation is essential for inclusive growth of a nation. He said 112 districts in the country have less than 20% irrigation coverage and time bound actions are needed to meet the challenges of water scarcity and flood management the Minister said. The Government has proposed National Ground Water Management improvement scheme, a world bank backed Rs. 6,000 crore scheme, for sustainable management of ground water.

Dr. Satyapal Singh, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation thanked all the delegates participating in the IWW-2017 and hoped that specific focussed sessions on the basic issues of water and energy will be highly beneficial for policy maker and Nation.

About 1500 delegates from India and 13 other countries are attending the five day international event. The theme of India Water Week – 2017 is “Water and Energy for Inclusive Growth”.

The 5th edition of India Water Week (IWW) is being held with a multi disciplinary conference and a concurrently running exhibition enriching the theme and showcasing the technologies and solutions available for the areas under deliberation of the meet. The event will have the following major components:

• Water, Food and Energy Security – Essential requirement for sustainable development.

• Water for inclusive Growth

• Sustainable energy development – Key for all round economic growth.

• Water and Society

A large group of international and national persons of eminence have been invited for sharing their experiences in the field of Water and Power Management, Technical and Sociological interventions for achieving water and energy security in their individual areas and manage the assets created on a participatory basis. In addition, there will be special sessions involving dignitaries, delegates, politicians, experts from the fields related to the event. Expert professional bodies and think tanks are invited to put up Side events addressing specific issues under the theme.

The Business to Business Exhibition “India Water Expo 2017” co-located with the conference will also be organized from 11 to 14 October, 2017 to focus on the latest technologies providing solutions to the water management issues.

In order to establish an international event focused on water resources of India, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India has been organising India Water Week since 2012 as an annual international event. Four editions of India Water Week have been organised so far in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. The recommendations/action points emerged during earlier events of India Water Week have been sent to all concerned Ministries of Central Government as well as to all State Governments for their appropriate implementation.