BHUBANESWAR: Orissa, which till the last decade used just about 14 per cent of its available groundwater, has shown a rapid rise in utilisation which has jumped to 26.14 per cent. According to assessment of the groundwater resource of the State, by the Directorate of Ground Water Survey and Investigation in association with Central Ground Water board, the highest level of groundwater utilisation was observed in Bhadrak district with use of 55.49 per cent, while Malkangiri utilised the lowest at 8.76 pc. Among the blocks, Balasore’s Baliapal remained at the top with 69.96 per cent groundwater utilisation while Podia in southern most Malkangiri recorded 4.57 per cent use. According to the assessment, the State’s gross dynamic groundwater resources are estimated at 17.77 billion cubic metres (BCM) of which 1.08 BCM is considered to be natural losses. Annually about 16.69 BCM are available for development of the State. A sectoral analysis says irrigation accounts for 20.81 pc of the usage followed by domestic use at 4.44 pc and industrial use at just 0.89 pc. All blocks have been categorised as safe, except six coastal blocks which have been fully affected by salinity.Though Orissa uses less groundwater resources than other states, the fact that more than 80 pc of the State’s geographical area comes under hard rock terrain where location of successful bore-wells necessitates application of advanced investigation techniques poses a challenge. In fact, the State Government is mulling a legislation for groundwater regulation in districts where it is over-utilised. At a workshop on ‘Ground Water Resources Management,’ organised by the Directorate here on Monday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik too echoed similar sentiments. Large-scale use may create problems in terms of its quality and quantity in different parts of Orissa, he said. “Water scarcity and pollution are key issues that need to be addressed on priority,” he stated. Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathi, Water Resources (Minor Irrigation) Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo, Principal Secretary to Water Resources Department SK Mahapatra, Engineer-in-Chief of Water Resources HC Behera and Chief Engineer SK Mishra spoke.
Comments
0 comment