The Irrigation Department is set to undergo a major revamp based on the realisation that the presence of 44 rivers can no more be a guarantee for future water security.
The department is to be ‘rebuilt’ in line with the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) with the State government mooting a River Basin Authority (RBA) and demand rising for a holistic approach to water management, the draft Restructuring Proposal 2019 of the department says.
The department had sought feedback on the draft from employees, associations and organisations, Joshy K.A., Chief Engineer (Irrigation and Administration), said. ‘‘This is the first draft. The proposal will take final shape after discussions with all stakeholders,’’ he said.
Above all, the increasing bouts of water shortage, the August 2018 floods and the projected water demand call for fresh strategies and a news institutional architecture, says the draft. ‘‘Though the Irrigation Department plays a pivotal role in the management of water resources across the State, the institution was set up at a time when the concept of IWRM was hardly discussed. Today, there is an urgent need to strengthen, restructure and redesign the institution so that the required leadership in conservation and management of water resources of the State can be provided,’’ it says.
It cites the Perspective Plan 2030 forecast that the total water demand in the State will rise from 38.94 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2021 to 44.54 BCM by 2031.
The draft proposes an overhaul of the department's organisational set-up, bringing dam management under the single command of the Chief Engineer (Administration, Dam Management and Inter-State Issues). River basins across the Sstate have been grouped as Northern, Central and Southern River basins, each of which will be headed by a separate Chief Engineer. While the Chief Engineer overseeing design and research, hydrology and investigation of irrigation works is to be retained, a separate Chief Engineer has been proposed for development and management of inland waterways and works related to coastal protection and management.
The draft lists the challenges before the department: Primarily, changing weather patterns affecting the monsoon and deforestation and encroachment destroying traditional water sources. Again, the department will have to tackle the high rate of pollution in water bodies, ground water depletion and the topographical peculiarities of the State that result in quick draining of water, it says.
In the years to come, the department hopes to play an ''active lead role'' in community micro-irrigation, rejuvenation of water bodies, streams and rivers, desiltation of dams, innovative and eco-friendly solutions for coastal protection, integrated reservoir operations and regulation of river channel flows using flood forecasting and flood monitoring measures.