New Delhi (NVI): To efficiently manage the consumption of water and prevent its wastage in any form, the government will focus on the demand-side of water management, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said today.
“Now the time has come to focus on demand-side management of water conservation instead of just supply-side management,” he said at an event by FICCI in Delhi.
Demand-side management, also known as DSM or demand-side response (DSR) is the modification of consumer demand of a resource through various methods such as financial incentives and behavioral change through education.
Speaking at ‘5th edition of India Industry Water Conclave’ and ‘7th edition of FICCI Water Awards’, organised by FICCI, Shekhawat said that the government has already started adopting latest technologies in water management.
He said that rural areas are getting covered with 3D aquifer mapping to ensure the exact water level in the area. “We have to ensure as to how we can reduce the water usage, recycle it and re-use it,” the Union Minister said.
He said that the National Groundwater Management Improvement Scheme, (worth Rs 6,000 crore), will be supported with financial assistance from World Bank, Rs 3,000 crore and remaining by the government through budgetary support.
He further said that the government has recently launched ‘Atal Bhujal Yojna’ which is a groundwater management scheme and it is based on the participation by all concerned stakeholders. “First time we have initiated a pilot scheme for demand-side management which will cover 400 districts in 7 states”, he added.
The Union Minister said that state participation is key in solving the issue of water management and emphasised on the need of adopting best practices which states have already implemented in water conservation. “There is a need to expand the time-tested proven technologies and government is working in that direction,” he said.
Highlighting the role of corporate sector in water management, Shekhawat said that the government alone cannot solve the issue and all stakeholders including corporate sector need to come forward. “I urge the industry to come forward and invest in hydrological system and can play an active role in promoting wastewater use,” he said.
