Kerala adopts water budget to tackle summer water shortage
An abundance of rivers, streams, backwaters and a good amount of rainfall contribute to the lush greenery in Kerala, many parts of which yet face acute water scarcity when it comes to the summers. And this has led to the state adopting a Water Budget — the first of its kind in the country.
The details of the first phase of the Water Budget in the state covering 94 grama panchayats in 15 block panchayats were unveiled on Monday by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
At the event, Vijayan said that the state was witnessing a reduction in water availability and therefore a water budget would be helpful in properly utilising the resource and preventing wastage.
Water experts welcomed the initiative and said it would help the state ascertain the demand and supply of the precious liquid resource and apportion it accordingly, as the problem was not one of availability, but of management.
“It is not an issue of scarcity, it is a managerial problem,” said Dr Sunny George, a limnologist of international repute and the Director of the SCMS Water Institute.