“Water conservation should be priority”: Parameswaran Iyer

Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, talked about how Indian villages lack clean water and what could be done to provide clean drinking water to the villagers at the India Today Conclave Mumbai 2019. He also pointed that technology could be used to create awareness on water conservation. The focus should be on creating local water storages. Iyer, who is the man behind constructing 9.50 crore toilets in the country, said that most of them has been constructed for the economically and socially weaker sections. TAKEAWAYS OF THE SESSION: # There is a need of water conservation in integrated manner. The local storage of water should be created. # Much water is not required for steeped toilets. There is a need to undertake programs for water recharging. # As 90 per cent of the water is used for agriculture purposes there is a need to give incentives to the farmers to reduce the water use. The ministry has deputed 1200 officials on the water conservation awareness program. # There are four lessons learned from the Swachch Bharat Mission. They are political leadership, public finance, partnership and public partnership. The water conservation is more difficult than Swachch Bharat Mission. # Israel has phenomenal success on water conservation. # Less than 30 per cent Indian cities have sewage network. That makes the water bodies surrounding the city contaminated. # There is significant improvement in Ganga rejuvenation program. The focus has been on stopping waste water entering into the river. QUOTES: “Solution to pollution is dilution. We need more flow of water into the river.” “Even poor people are willing to pay more services but sometimes the government and agencies are unwilling to charge.”