Several areas in Haryana witnessed drastic drop in water table in past 12 years: Khattar

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Tuesday said water table in several areas of the state has fallen drastically over the past 12 years and expressed serious concern. An amount of Rs 7,000 is being given by the state government to the farmers' who opt for sowing alternative crops in place of paddy," he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Tuesday said water table in several areas of the state has fallen drastically over the past 12 years and expressed serious concern. The level, he said, has gone down even below 200 feet in some areas and if it's not controlled now, future generations "would never forgive us". He accused previous governments of not paying enough attention to the problem.

"To improve the ground water level, the government has launched 'Mera Pani-Meri Virasat Scheme," Khattar said. He said farmers in the state are encouraged to diversify their crops instead of growing traditional water-guzzling paddy.

The chief minister was interacting with progressive farmers under the scheme in Ratia in Fatehabad, an official statement said here. "In order to help improve the ground water level, the state government is promoting growing of alternative crops including maize, cotton, pulses, millet, and fruits-vegetables, etc. in place of paddy on one lakh hectare land," he added.   "So far, 42,000 farmers have registered themselves for not sowing paddy on 55,000 hectares of land in the state. An amount of Rs 7,000 is being given by the state government to the farmers' who opt for sowing alternative crops in place of paddy," he said.  During the interaction, Khattar also sought suggestions and feedback from farmers and assured them they will be considered properly.   He said the government is making all efforts to ensure that Haryana gets its share of water through the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link canal.

"Besides this, we plan to bring water through other sources including Lakhwar Dam and Renuka Dam Project. However, our focus, at present, is to utilise the available water judiciously so as to save the resource for future generations," he said. He said that around 4,000 to 5,000 litres of water is needed for sowing one kg of paddy, which leads to heavy water consumption and wastage.  The chief minister said that 100 recharge borewells would be constructed each in three blocks of the state -- Ratia, Shahabad and Guhla -- for rainwater harvesting. An amount of Rs 1.5 lakh would be spent on each recharge well, he said, adding the water table in about 10 acres of land can be improved from one such well, he added.