Reservoirs drying fast, state to start water cuts

The Gujarat government has decided to reduce water supply in cities, towns and villages soon, with the state staring at an imminent water crisis because of the fast-drying reservoirs of the Narmada dam.

Of the 4.5 million acre feet (MAF) water allocated from the Narmada river for use in Gujarat, only 1 MAF remains as 3.5 MAF water has already been utilised for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes. Sixty-six per cent of its population is totally dependent on the Narmada water,

Except South Gujarat, the entire state has been depending on the Naramada water, instead of local sources, for the past few years.

The state government called an emergency meeting of ministers concerned and senior bureaucrats on Thursday to discuss the issue and decided to soon start water rationing.

A senior bureaucrat said, "We are going to direct city and local authorities to impose water cuts in their areas. Cities such as Ahmedabad and Vadodara, which have other sources of water, will be directed to switch to their original source of water. Another option is to draw groundwater from the lower levels of the canals which have been stored through seepage."

"The government has also decided to request the Rajasthan government to release water for Gujarat from their reservoirs as many of the reservoirs here were damaged during last year's flood and are unfit to hold water for long. Rajasthan received good rainfall in their catchment areas and hence has ample storage in their reservoirs. We will request them to share some water from the Naramada as per the water distribution formula of Narmada Control Authority," added the officer.

Against the annual average, of 28 MAF water, Narmada's catchment areas in state received only 14MAF water last monsoon. Madhya Pradesh has been allotted only 9 MAF water against the prescribed 18MAF, and Gujarat has been allotted 4.5MAF water.

"We cannot request the Madhya Pradesh government to release more water for Gujarat as they are receiving less water than prescribed lot. Moreover, Madhya Pradesh is set for Assembly polls next year, so the government would be cautious to avoid public resentment over sharing water with Gujarat," the official said.

Last week, the Gujarat government directed farmers not to take up farming in the coming summer season if they are totally dependent on the Narmada water for irrigation. The reservoir of Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada is 45 per cent filled to its total capacity of 9,460 million cubic metre (MCM), while all the reservoirs are 50 per cent filled to its total capacity of 25,239 MCM water.