Cash for power bills may check water misuse at farms: Parikh
The Planning Commission on Tuesday suggested providing one-time cash compensation to farmers for paying electricity bills instead of the current system of government subsidy.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission on Tuesday suggested providing one-time cash compensation to farmers for paying electricity bills instead of the current system of government subsidy. According to the Plan panel, the move will check groundwater exploitation as farmers would be discouraged from using electric pumps for drawing groundwater.
Releasing the report of the Expert Group on Groundwater Management and Ownership, Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh said such a mechanism would prevent over-exploitation of groundwater, especially in areas where recharge was low, without increasing the subsidy burden, which was as high as Rs 30,000 crore in 2001-02.
According to the proposed scheme, farmers could be assigned an amount based on a fixed number of power units. The Plan panel has proposed that farmers can be given Rs 6,000 at Rs 2 per unit for using 3,000 units of power.
“The total charges can be deducted from the given amount and the surplus may be handed over to the farming community at the year-end,” Mr Parikh said.
The report also suggested separation of agricultural and household pumps, besides using advanced tools such as geographical information system and remote sensing equipment for groundwater management.
The country needs to involve panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) to ensure efficient use of groundwater, Mr Parikh said, adding 6 lakh PRIs should manage groundwater utilisation and ensure their recharge during monsoons.
“The rate of extraction of groundwater is increasing and in many blocks it exceeds the rate of recharge, leading to lowered water tables. About 28% of the blocks are now semi-critical, critical and over-exploited,” the report states. The number of dark or over-exploited critical blocks has grown from 4% in 1995 to 15% in 2004.
“Currently, total water use (including groundwater) is 634 billion cubic metres (BCM), of which 83% is for irrigation. The demand for water is projected to grow to 813 BCM by 2010, 1,093 BCM by 2025 and 1,447 BCM by 2050, against the utilisable quantum of 1,123 BCM,” the report added.
The Plan panel has also favoured central intervention when groundwater level is depleted below the replenishable level. “Such an area would have to be declared as an area under environmental threat for the states to regulate groundwater use,” Mr Parikh suggested.
Releasing the report of the Expert Group on Groundwater Management and Ownership, Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh said such a mechanism would prevent over-exploitation of groundwater, especially in areas where recharge was low, without increasing the subsidy burden, which was as high as Rs 30,000 crore in 2001-02.
According to the proposed scheme, farmers could be assigned an amount based on a fixed number of power units. The Plan panel has proposed that farmers can be given Rs 6,000 at Rs 2 per unit for using 3,000 units of power.
“The total charges can be deducted from the given amount and the surplus may be handed over to the farming community at the year-end,” Mr Parikh said.
The report also suggested separation of agricultural and household pumps, besides using advanced tools such as geographical information system and remote sensing equipment for groundwater management.
The country needs to involve panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) to ensure efficient use of groundwater, Mr Parikh said, adding 6 lakh PRIs should manage groundwater utilisation and ensure their recharge during monsoons.
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“The rate of extraction of groundwater is increasing and in many blocks it exceeds the rate of recharge, leading to lowered water tables. About 28% of the blocks are now semi-critical, critical and over-exploited,” the report states. The number of dark or over-exploited critical blocks has grown from 4% in 1995 to 15% in 2004.
“Currently, total water use (including groundwater) is 634 billion cubic metres (BCM), of which 83% is for irrigation. The demand for water is projected to grow to 813 BCM by 2010, 1,093 BCM by 2025 and 1,447 BCM by 2050, against the utilisable quantum of 1,123 BCM,” the report added.
The Plan panel has also favoured central intervention when groundwater level is depleted below the replenishable level. “Such an area would have to be declared as an area under environmental threat for the states to regulate groundwater use,” Mr Parikh suggested.
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