Kerala Adopts First-Of-Its-Kind Water Budget To Tackle Summer Shortage

Kerala Water Budget: CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said, the water budget will cover 94 grama panchayats in 15 block panchayats.

In a first in India, Kerala, the god's own country, is set to adopt a water budget in the state to tackle water shortage in summer. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan unveiled the water budget which will cover 94 grama panchayats in 15 block panchayats on Monday.

During the inauguration, Vijayan said that the state was experiencing reduced water availability and a water budget would be of help to utilise the resource.

He said even though the state has 44 rivers, several backwaters, lakes, ponds and streams many part of Kerala had been facing water scarcity during summer. This is the first-of-its-kind project in India and the project will be an example to other states, he said. 

Pinarayi also inaugurated Public Water Budget and the third phase of the project ‘Ini Njan Ozhukatte’ (Let me flow now) during the event. 

Following the announcement, the water experts started to welcome the initiative. 

Dr Sunny George, a limnologist of international repute and the Director of the SCMS Water Institute said, “It is not an issue of scarcity, it is a managerial problem.” 

“In order to manage a resource, you first need to quantify it. That is the basic principle of managing any resource,” he added.

“If we get data on demand and supply, we will get a correct picture. We will be able to plan appropriately. So budgeting would be very helpful. The Water Budget is definitely a good initiative,” Sunny George told PTI.

TN Seema, Coordinator of ‘Navakeralam Karma Padhathi’, shared a similar view and said that Kerala is a state with surplus water but still, there is water shortage during summer.

She said, "The volunteers, resource persons, and technical committee members have considered all the water sources in each panchayat, including rainfall, wetlands, canals, and other water bodies, and also calculated the demand from humans and animals, agriculture, and industries. So, specific recommendations have been provided to each panchayat as part of the Water Budget.”