Chandigarh, May 1
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi is making Bhagirath-like efforts to save every single drop of water.
“Just as Bhagirath with his dedicated efforts had brought the river Ganga from the Heavens to the Earth, similarly Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi by launching Amrit Sarovar Mission has also made Bhagirath-like efforts to save Ponds,” said Sh. Manohar Lal after launching the State-Level Amrit Sarovar Mission during a programme organized at Nahra village in Sonipat district on Sunday.
He said that water is the core of healthy land and we would not like to give barren land without water to our next generation.
After reaching the event, the Chief Minister launched the Amrit Sarovar Mission with the coconut breaking ritual at the village Gangeshwar Sarovar. Congratulating the workers on International Labour Day, the Chief Minister also contributed through ‘Shramdan’.
While addressing the public representatives who had joined the Amrit Sarovar Mission programme organized at 111 places across the state through video conferencing, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi while understanding the basic mantra that ‘Water is Life’ has launched a mission to save the ponds across the country.
Sh. Narendra Modi has called upon the nation to work on a plan to clean or rejuvenate 75 ponds in each district across the country and today’s programme from Haryana is a part of this Mission, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that earlier people used to dig ponds themselves. But for a long time, people did not pay attention to the cleanliness of the ponds, due to which the ponds became polluted. With the passage of time, waste coming out of various sources started flowing into these ponds. The water of the ponds started overflowing but from today we have taken the initiative to resolve this problem, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
The Chief Minister said that there are 18,000 ponds in Haryana, out of which 4000 are filled with rainwater, while 6000 are filled with water for animal use and 8000 ponds are filled with dirty water, which will be treated.
Sh. Manohar Lal said that the historic ponds of the state would be renovated as pilgrimage sites. Under the Amrit Sarovar Mission, firstly 8000 ponds of Haryana will be renovated by August 15, 2022, out of which work has been started on 1600 ponds.
After this, the condition of all the remaining ponds in the entire state will be improved. Under this, by excavating the ponds, building retaining walls and beautification, the surrounding site will be made attractive. The Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Authority have been constituted for the rejuvenation of ponds in the state and a separate provision of Rs. 1000 crore has been made for this.
Recharging well will be built in every government building in the state
The Chief Minister said that every drop of water would be saved and used. Under this, recharging wells will be built in all government buildings across Haryana so that rainwater can be conserved. The Chief Minister also called upon the farmers to conserve rainwater. He said that 750 recharging borewells were installed last year. This year a target has been set to make them 5000.
Recycled water will also be used
The Chief Minister said that the wastewater coming out from industries and sewerage would be recycled and reused through STP. This water will be reused for industries, construction works, horticulture and agriculture through micro-irrigation.
He said that this water contains components of manure, which is very beneficial for growing vegetables, fruits, flowers and crops. Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran has also been directed to lay double lines to make this recycled water available for household needs such as washing cars, toilets and gardening, etc.
Farmers should emphasize on micro-irrigation
The Chief Minister said that the need for clean water is increasing continuously. There is 82 lakh acres of cultivable land in the state. Out of this, direct irrigation is done on 40 lakh acres of land, on the rest of the land we are not able to irrigate directly due to lack of clean water, said Sh. Manohar Lal.
Calling upon the farmers, the Chief Minister said that they should adopt micro-irrigation system. For this, 85 percent subsidy is provided by the State Government and only 15 percent of money has to be invested by the farmers.
He said that every year the water level is going down by 1 meter due to tubewell irrigation. Farmer has to put one-meter pipe in the borewell every year and if we keep doing this then in 10-20 years the land will run out of water which will not only end the fertility of the land but the future generations will also get barren land said, Sh. Manohar Lal.
In a bid to ensure farmers should adopt crop diversification, the State Government is giving an incentive amount of Rs. 7000 per acre every year. Last year, under this scheme, farmers have reduced the sowing of paddy on 1 lakh acres, informed Sh. Manohar Lal.
Chief Minister makes several pivotal announcements for Nahra village
Sh. Manohar Lal while making several pivotal announcements for Nahra village announced that an amount of Rs. 82 lakh would be spent on the beautification of the Gangeshwar pond under the Amrit Sarovar Mission. Apart from this, he also announced the rejuvenation of the four ponds located in Nahra village, accorded approval for Rs. 70 lakh to pave the path of the fields, construction of the street at Asthal Bohar temple, Rs. 1.5 crore for Community Center to be built on one acre of land, construction of park on 3 acres of land and open gym, arrangement of books in the library and repair of 5 chaupals.
The Chief Minister also announced the repair of the Government Girls Senior School building and if required approval would be given for the construction of the new school building. He also announced the laying of the pipeline for watersheds in the area.
Additional Chief Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Sh. Devender Singh said that irrigation scheme would be prepared by dividing the state into village-wise category. The irrigation system is being strengthened to utilize the additional 5000 cusecs of water from river Yamuna.
Additional Chief Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, Sh. Amit Jha, Former Minister, Smt. Kavita Jain, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Authority, Sh. Prabhakar Verma and other senior officers also remained present during the programme.
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