Mandatory use or grey water for power plants, demand-side management measures for rational water use, and treatment and recycling of waste water that is otherwise discharged by industries into rivers, are some features of the state's draft water policy.
A senior water resources department official said this draft water policy was likely to be tabled before the state cabinet on Tuesday. "This will be in consonance with the 2012 national water policy which says state governments can draft or amend policies based on it," he added. The Maharashtra government had formalised a water policy in 2003. The national water policy was adopted in 1987 and revised in 2002 and 2012.
The official said the policy would include points like rationalisation of water tariffs, demand side management measures to boost availability and rainwater harvesting. It will lay down priority of water allocation to sectors like agriculture, drinking water and industries. "The agriculture sector sees the highest use of water. Demand side management and formation of water users associations is necessary. Thermal power plants may have to use sewage water," he added. The cabinet has already made it mandatory for industrial users like thermal power plants and units in MIDC areas to use this grey water. This will make more water available for drinking and irrigation.
According to the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA), of the five river basin systems, only 55% of the dependable yield is available in the four river basins (Krishna, Godavari, Tapi and Narmada) east of the Western Ghats. These four basins comprise 92% of the cultivable land and over 60% of rural population.
An approximate 49% of the area of these four river basins consisting of 43% of the population is already considered as a deficit or highly deficit regarding water availability. The size of these deficit areas is likely to increase steadily with increasing population and economic growth in the years to come.
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