Maharashtra government to choose between revenue or drought-struck people
The severity of drought in Maharashtra has reached such an extent that the Ramkund, the sacred bathing ghat on the Godavari river and the epicentre of the Kumbh Mela, has dried up after 139 years. Amidst such a situation, the Bombay High Court had raised its concerns over the holding of IPL matches in the state, as it would require about 60,000 litres of water per day to maintain the pitches. However, in between the row over whether the IPL matches should be shifted from Maharahstra or not, the High Court gave the go ahead to the inaugural match that was held in Mumbai on April 9.
Centre approves implementation of National Hydrology Project worth Rs 3679 crore
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the National Hydrology Project which aims to provide real-time flood forecasting, reservoir operation and ultimately better management of water resources. The total outlay of the project is Rs 3,679 crore which also includes the establishment of the National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC). Per the government, the project will facilitate integrated water resource management by adopting a river basin approach through the collation and management of hydro- meteorological data which will be stored and analysed on a real-time basis and can be seamlessly accessed by any user at the state/ district/village-level.
DRDO's drinking water test kit to soon be popularised across the country
The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) has signed a license agreement with M/s Ramashree Chemicals Pvt. Ltd of Bhopal for the commercialisation of a 'Test kit for Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water' developed by the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior. The kit which will be used for the detection of H2S producing organisms in drinking water has been licensed to more than 20 companies and will be popularised across the country through a network of dealers. The initiative is an aid to the 'Make in India' mission of the Government of India and has also been approved by the World Health Organisation.
Rs 1,304 crore relief announced for drought-hit Bundelkhand
Under the National Relief Disaster Fund, the Centre has announced a relief of Rs 1,304 crore to the drought-affected Bundelkhand region. The UP Government has been ordered to disburse the relief amount directly into the bank accounts of farmers within a week. Along with the decision to aggressively push the National Rural Livelihood Mission, the Centre has also joined hands with the UP Government to find long-term sustainable solutions to the problem of vulnerable regions in natural distress. A high-level review will also be conducted to understand the drought situation in Bundelkhand, Vidharbha and Marathwada.
Government releases white paper on urban wastewater PPPs at India Water Week 2016
The Ministry of Water Resources has released a white paper on Urban Wastewater Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) prepared by the FICCI Water Mission and 2030 Water Resources Group, at the recently concluded India Water Week 2016. The paper titled 'Model for Efficient Water Management at Local Level in Urban / Peri-Urban Areas' aims to serve as a valuable resource to assess current constraints faced by PPP projects and develop innovative ways to involve the private sector in the sewerage space.
This is a roundup of important news updates from April 5 - 11, 2016. Also read last week's policy matters update.
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