Vidarbha water scenario grim

This seems to be only the beginning with the harsh month of May still looming large. The number of problematic villages will rise to 3000,the same figure that existed before the erstwhile Sena-BJP government launched its much-touted Rs 15,000 crores tanker-free’ scheme.

The only difference after spending crores of money is that now, seven out of ten districts in the region are tanker-free’.

Every year, the State Government has been tackling water crises in about 3000 Vidarbha villages. The gravity of the problem differ from village to village. In some cases temporary measures such as deepening of wells and bore wells would solve the problem. In others the water had to be piped down from distant sources more than five kilometres away. The villages where any of these measures failed, were listed as tanker-dependent.

Every year, after the onset of summer, the State Government would come up with district-level emergency water supply schemes. The names and details of the problematic’ villages would change, but their number would remain the same.

Vidarbhites suddenly saw a ray of hope as the Sena-BJP government took charge in 1995. They came up with the magnanimous announcement of Rs 15,000 crore state-level tanker-free scheme. Under this scheme drought-prone villages were to be identified district-wise and permanent water supply schemes implemented there.

Things seemed to move unimaginably fast in the first year itself as three districts in the region were declared tanker-free – Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Wardha (in 1996-97). During 1997-98, Chandrapur, Yavatmal and Amravati were added to the list, while on June 30, 1999, Nagpur district was declared tanker-free.

When Nagpur was declared tanker-free, the district administration relented that out of 328 tanker-dependent villages in summer 1998, 263 had been freed’. The administration also admitted that of these 263 villages, only tenders regarding water supply works had been floated.It was also admitted that the water supply scheme work was in progress’ at 371 villages and that an additional fund of Rs 135.72 crores was required to complete them.

It was thus apparent that the district was tanker-free only on papers. In 1999, the government claimed that 314 out of 744 tanker-dependent villages in Amravati division had been freed’ and that additional funds of Rs 437 crores were required to complete the ongoing work. Two out of five of these districts, Amravati and Yavatmal had already been declared tanker-free.

It was only during the onset of this summer that the incumbent Democratic Front Government found that despite tall claims and big announcements, the water problem persisted. The situation led the water supply department to demand an emergency fund of Rs 100 crores from the Central Government, while the State Government came up with a special provision of Rs 80 crores.

A meeting presided over by Sulekha Kumbhare,Minister of State For Water Supply and Sanitation to review the problem in Nagpur district was held on March 11, wherein a number of temporary water supply works were proposed. With the latest survey showing that more than 1000 villages have already been affected in the region, a meeting of all district Guardian Ministers in region has been convened in city on Monday. The meeting, to be presided over by Shivajirao Moghe, District Guardian Minister, is expected to discuss contingency plans to tide over the crisis.

Meanwhile the common villagers in Vidarbha, as usual tread long distances for some water.