MARCHING AHEAD. Water Conservation through Public Participation FOR HINDI EDITION SEE PAGE NO.53. For Official Circulation only

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1 BILINGUAL MONTHLY MAGAZINE VOL-4 ISSUE-5 MAY 2018 GUJARAT For Official Circulation only MARCHING AHEAD FOR HINDI EDITION SEE PAGE NO.53 WATER IS LIFE Water Conservation through Public Participation facebook.com/cmoguj twitter.com/cmoguj youtube.com/cmogujarat instagram.com/cmogujarat

2 WATER MANAGEMENT Sardar Sarovar Project: An apt example of balanced and efficient management of water Due to the efficient water management, today Gujarat is moving from a drought-prone state to a water-secured state. To this request of Shri Rupani, the Narmada Control Authority has approved the use of water from Dead storage of Sardar Sarovar dam with the consent of the four party states. Apart from efforts of Gujarat Chief Minister to solve the problem of water in Gujarat, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Nitin Patel has been continuously reviewing the water balance and proper arrangements of drinking water and irrigation. Deputy Chief Minister, Shri Nitin Patel has also expressed gratitude to the Central Government, Narmada Control Authority and party states. He has described this scheme as an apt example of water co-operation amongst the states and thanked all the party states in his speech in the recently concluded legislative assembly session. ujarat Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani has expressed gratitude to the Central Government and the Narmada Control Authority for permitting the use of 'Dead Storage' in the Sardar Sarovar Dam for providing drinking water in Gujarat. This water will be drawn through Irrigation By-Pass tunnel (IBPT) already constructed at Sardar Sarovar dam. Due to low rainfall in Narmada catchment in in 2017, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and have been allotted less water this year than the normal allocation xed by the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal. Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani had requested the Narmada Control Authority for additional water so that Gujarat does not have to face water scarcity in summer time. G 'Dead storage area' is the lower portion of any dam reservoir ranging from the bottom of the dam to a speci c level known as Maximum Drawdown level (MDDL). The storage of water in the dam reservoir is always classi ed in two parts - Dead and Live. Due to the silt accumulation which comes along with river, Dead Storage area is built in the dams so that storage capacity of the dams is maintained for next 100 years or more. Under normal circumstances, the live water can always be used, but at the time of severe water shortage, the water from the Dead storage area is also used to meet the water needs. Canal Head Power House (CHPH) Direct Drawal through IBPT Total storage capacity 7.75 MAF Live storage capacity 4.75 MAF Total storage capacity 4.27 MAF Live storage capacity 1.27 MAF MDDL A Portion of Dead Storage Courtesy : Google Map m m EL m Through CHPH 88m 18m Through IBPT direct

3 Gujarat Marching Ahead Sardar Sarovar Project is the backbone of socio-economic development in Gujarat. Before the independence of India, in the year 1946, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had envisaged the Narmada scheme. Today SSP is in its advance stage of completion. Narmada project has become the mainstay of the life for the people of Central Gujarat, North Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch regions. Sardar Sarovar dam, which is 1,210 meters long and 163 meters high, has been dedicated to the nation. The work of canal network of about 54,000 km canal has been completed at the rate of 9 to 10 thousand kilometers per year in the last 3 years. Since there is no other alternative to overcome the problem of water stress in Gujarat except Narmada Project, Gujarat government has given top priority to this project, and results are for everyone to see. One of the main objectives of this project is to provide drinking water to an estimated 40 million population and irrigation in 1.8 million hectares of 17 districts of Gujarat. Origin of Narmada River Narmada River originates near Amarkantak in (MP) and traverses a distance of about 1312 km, of which 88 % length is in MP and meets the sea at Gulf of Cambay. Total catchment area of Narmada basin is 97,410 sq.km of which 88,000 sq.km is up to Sardar Sarovar Dam. As about 97.5 % of the total catchment area lies in MP, total utilizable water primarily depends on the rainfall in this area. As per the basin planning, 30 major, 135 medium and 3000 minor dams are to be constructed and of these only Sardar Sarovar Dam is located in Gujarat whereas rest of the dams lie in MP which are either constructed or are being constructed. Apportionment of Water among the Party States As per Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal (NWDT) Award in the year 1979, besides the States of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan also get the share out of total water stored in all the major, medium and minor dams built across river Narmada and its tributaries.it is decided by the Tribunal that out of the total 28 MAF (Million Acre Feet) utilizable quantum of water expected in a normal year,, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are entitled to get MAF, 9 MAF, 0.50 MAF and 0.25 MAF respectively. Also, in the event of total utilizable water in excess of 28 MAF in a good year or falling short of 28 MAF in a lean year, the surplus or the de cit shall also be apportioned in the same ratio of allocation. This means that water allocated to Gujarat in a water year does not depend on the level of water recorded or quantum of water stored at the Sardar Sarovar dam alone, but, it actually depends on the water scenario in whole of the Narmada basin. It is important to note that the ultimate live storage of Sardar Sarovar Dam when lled up to its full reservoir level is only 4.75 MAF while Gujarat s allocation in a normal year is 9 MAF. This share of allocation is again assessed based on 75% dependability and it does not mean that 75% of the entitlement is guaranteed every year; it actually means that in 75 years out of 100 years, total utilizable quantum of water will be 28 MAF or more and in the remaining 25 years, the same may be less than 28 MAF. In other words, it can be concluded that on an average one out of every 4 years will be a lean year. Less in ow of water from the upstream catchment area of Narmada basin in (MP) has led to signi cant reduction in the available water in the Sardar Sarovar Dam. To tackle this situation, the State Government has meticulously tried to make special arrangements for ensuring adequate provision for drinking water. Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani has extensively consulted with the state and national level experts working in the eld of water management. In February, Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has in its meeting held at Delhi given permission to the state of Gujarat to draw water from the dead storage available at Sardar Sarovar Dam for drinking purpose. With grant of this permission, about 10,000 villages and 167 towns of Gujarat will be able to get water for drinking purpose till 31st July, The Chief Minister Shri Vijaybhai Rupani on behalf of 6.5 crore people of Gujarat has expressed his gratitude to NCA and the Chief Ministers of the party states viz., Maharashtra and Rajasthan for this decision taken in the interest of the people of Gujarat. 31

4 A lean year as compared to the year 2016 Rain Gauge Station Year-2016 (mm) Year-2017 (mm) Bamni Banjar Sandia Barna Tawa Dam Hoshangabad Indira Sagar Project Jobat Sardar Sarovar Dam * * Gujarat received good rain in the year 2017 Rainfall in Narmada River Basin (M.P.) G r e e n c o l o u r a r e a showing the abundance of r a i n f a l l i n t h e r i v e r Narmada in the year and red coloured 2016 r e g i o n s h o w i n g t h e shortage of rains in the c a t c h m e n t o f r i v e r Narmada in as depicted in the maps by the Indian Meteorological Department. Narmada Basin Area 2017 Normal [-19% to +19%] De cient [-59% to -20%] 32

5 Relative storages in the dams of and Sardar Sarovar dam and the resultant allocation 1 As allocated (Normal Condition) Total 100% 28 MAF Water Alloca on as per Tribunal in a Normal Water Year - 28 MAF (Million Acre Feet) Dams & Non-Monsoon ow 17% 17% Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat Gujarat Rajasthan Maharashtra 2 Last year ( ) a surplus year (gates were not closed) 99.24% Dams 17% Total % MAF 4.55% Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat *Under above average rainfall condition, the water over owed A Surplus Water Year (When Sardar Sarover Dam gates were not closed) Gujarat Rajasthan Maharashtra 3 Current year ( ) a de cit year (gates were closed) Total 53.36% MAF Current Year (Sardar Sarover Dam Gates were closed a er permission from NCA) 43.52% 17% 9.84% Gujarat Dams Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat Rajasthan Maharashtra 33

6 Comparative Allocation of water among all four states Comparison of Narmada river water between partner states in last year and current year STATE Normal Water Year (MAF) Water Year (MAF) Water Year (MAF) Gujarat (As per decision taken in the meeting held in January 2018) / 4.80 (As per the decision taken in the meeting held in February 2018) Madhya Predesh / 9.74 Maharashtra / 0.13 Rajasthan / 0.27 Total / Planning of disciplined Narmada Water usage for Irrigation Original planning of this project was done in the 1980's by Narmada Planning Group, in which experts from various disciplines like agriculture, irrigation, economics and statistics were involved. After much effort and intensive study, water allocation for irrigation through this project has been nalized. Under this, there is a provision to provide water to I.8 million hectare area by allocating 24 % for Kharif crops, 29 % for Rabi crop, 22 % for two season crops, 1.8 % for summer cultivation, 1.7 % for perennial crops and 5.9 % for other crops. In his speech in the Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Nitin Patel also informed the Assembly House that since there is no provision for water for irrigation during the summer season, and the quantity of water - due to low rainfall in Madhya Pradesh in last season - is also quite limited, the Gujarat government has already informed the farmers that it is not possible to provide water for irrigation for summer farming, so that farmers' hard work and money is not wasted. He also informed the House that due to good rainfall in in 2016, 9.34 MAF was given to Gujarat, and still as there is no provision to provide water for irrigation during the summer season, the Gujarat government did not provide water for summer farming last year as well. Similarly, this year as well, there is no question of water supply for irrigation during the summer season. Growing demand and use of water in Gujarat The demand for water in Gujarat is increasing every year, for which the Gujarat government has become more vigilant and prepared for water management. Earlier the situation was such that even 9.0 MAF allocated to Gujarat by Narmada Control Authority was not being fully utilised. This was basically due to the fact that earlier the canal network was not as big as today; neither there were proper arrangement for drinking and domestic water supply through pipeline. In the last 3 years, more than 26,700 km of canals have been constructed in SSP. Irrigation Potential has been created in 1.54 million hectare by completing Canal Network upto Minors. Out of this, in million hectare, command area is developed by completing canal network upto Sub- Minors. It is worth noting here that out of this million hectare command area, million hectare has been covered through underground pipelines Sub- Minors. Today, due to expansion of basic irrigation infrastructure in Gujarat the demand of water for irrigation has also increased. At the same time, demand for drinking water and other needs is also increasing in villages, municipalities and cities. This year, the Gujarat 34

7 Government has made proper arrangements for distributing water in a very ef cient and balanced manner for irrigating the Kharif crop. Apart from this, water has been provided as per the demand for Rabi cropping. Satellite pictures taken in January 2018 by the Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application and Geo- Informatics (BISAG) clearly show that under the Narmada command area in the Rabi season, water has been provided for irrigation in 8.32 lakh hectare area. Under the basic provisions of the Narmada project, 9.0 MAF water has been allocated to Gujarat. Gujarat Government has allocated 7.94 MAF water from Narmada project and 3.0 MAF water from underground and other natural sources i.e MAF for irrigation. With this MAF water, Gujarat Government plans to provide irrigation facility in 1.8 million hectare command area. Because of low rainfall in Madhya Pradesh, the quantity of water in Narmada River is very low, due to which less water has been allocated for irrigation than normal. During July 2016 March 2017, 7.71 MAF water was used and in the last 9 months i.e. July 2017 to March 2018 only 5.05 MAF of water has been used. As against normal allocation of 0.20 MAF (out of 9.0 MAF) for Industrial use, it has been reduced to 0.06 MAF only and this ceiling is not going to be crossed till the th end of water year i.e. 30 June, Narmada water is not unlimited Narmada River has a long history. It is believed that it is an older river than Ganga River. It is a bitter truth that inspite of long history and other distinctive characteristics, water of Narmada River is not unlimited. Rather than considering Narmada River as an unlimited source of water, the right solution to tackle water problem is proper management and ef cient use of its water. It would be wise to see that for ful lling our basic needs, we do not depend only on Narmada Water, but adopt ancient traditions of conserving rain water in the village tanks, ponds, step-wells, etc. (The author is working as - Dr. Mukesh Joshi General Manager (Technical and Coordination) in Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited) 35