The government has decided to introduce water budget, a water management tool to estimate the amount of water a landscape will require, in the State.
It could be calculated for a single irrigation event on a weekly or monthly basis, or annually at the panchayat, taluk, district and State level, Minister for Water Resources K. Krishnan Kutty said, replying to the demands for grants for Irrigation, Water Supply and Sanitation for 2019-20 in the Assembly on Wednesday.
The State had only 300 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water in the dams of the Kerala State Electricity Board and the Irrigation Department to cater to the needs of the State for one week and it was a serious concern during the monsoon period. Only 3.09 lakh hectares of the 20.40 lakh hectares was being irrigated and only 22 lakh families were getting piped drinking water.
Projects delayed
The Minister said 128 drinking water projects had failed to take off or were getting delayed due to many issues and ₹11,000 crore was needed for their commissioning. A sum of ₹ 30,000 crore was needed for providing piped drinking water to all families and the aim was to achieve the target during the tenure of the present government.
Seawall construction would be expedited and geotubes would be used for it in view of the shortage of granite in the State. A scientific study was needed for a permanent solution to coastal erosion. Desiltation of the dams would be taken up and two pilot projects had commenced. The Muvattupuzha drinking water scheme that commenced in 1974 would be completed by March 2020 and instructions had been given to this effect, the Minister said.