Water conservation lessons should be introduced in Rajasthan textbooks: Mahesh Joshi

Jaipur: The minister for Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and Ground Water Department, Rajasthan Mahesh Joshi on Wednesday pressed the need to introduce water conservation lessons in the school's textbook.

Speaking at the state-level consultation on Convergent Planning and Implementation for Source Sustainability in Rajasthan organised by the PHED and UNICEF Rajasthan, Mahesh Joshi said, "There is a dire need to introduce curriculum and chapters on the right to use water. The judicious use of water is something that we should teach students right from the school level, especially in Rajasthan which is known for scarcity of water".

Speaking on the occasion Mahesh Joshi, highlighted the need to include rainwater harvesting as one of the major interventions across the state and more than infrastructure, "There is a need for better management of available resources to address this issue. This is the most appropriate time for departments to converge for a common goal of water", Joshi said.

As per a report of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the state has achieved 38% coverage against the large base of 107.93 lakhs rural households and the issue of source sustainability is likely to have a maximum effect on water security soon.

Highlighting the importance of sustainability of the water sources and age-old water harvesting techniques, Isabelle Bardem, Chief  UNICEF Rajasthan said, "There is an urgent need to have a convergent approach between various Government line departments (PHED), Watershed and soil conservation, groundwater dept ) and collaborative efforts with the civil society organizations and other stakeholders. Age-old traditional water harvesting techniques such as rainwater harvesting structures, checkdams, etc. are relevant even today along with improved piped water supply".

Speaking about the intersectionalities of climate change and environmental sustainability, Isabelle added, "Rajasthan is highly vulnerable to climatic changes, and we must respond immediately to these changing scenarios.  Droughts, flash floods, and sandstorms directly affect water sources for their quantum as well as quality. These realities must be factored in planning and
implementation to ensure gains made under flagship programmes such as Jal Jeevan Mission are sustained"

Rajasthan has witnessed rapid groundwater depletion, changing rainfall patterns, and deteriorated water quality in the last three decades. As per Central Ground Water Board’s report published in 2022, groundwater extraction is currently at more than 150% in Rajasthan. This means we are withdrawing much more groundwater than the annual rate of recharge.

Rashmi Gupta, Secretary, Watershed and Soil Conservation Department highlighted the need for convergence and synergy between various line departments for ensuring sustainability of water sources and to avoid potential slip backs.

The day-long consultation was attended by senior field officials of PHED, state-level officials of the Ground Water Resources Department and Watershed and Soil Conservation departments, Panchayati Raj department. Representatives from civil society organizations also participated in the session.

The state consultation provided a convergent platform for line departments to show their concern on source sustainability and key areas of interventions which can be further collaborated jointly to plan and implement for ensuring source sustainability in Rajasthan. The consultation was organized to highlight the emerging issue of source sustainability in village-level water supply schemes undertaken by the department in Jal Jeevan Mission through a community participation approach.

Technical experts Mr Manish Wasuja, WASH Specialist, UNICEF New Delhi, Mr. Ajit Phadnis, Director PriMove, Pune and Rushabh Hemani WASH specialist, Rajasthan shared their views on experiences from other states and various strategies and practices being taken up for source sustainability.

At the onset of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Rajasthan had a major challenge to enhance its coverage from 12% in October 2019 to 100% by March 2024 with the critical challenge in the state being poor water availability due to water-stressed conditions. Over the last three decades, rapid expansion in use of groundwater, resulted in India becoming the largest groundwater extractor in the world.