Govt, corporates, communities need to work together for water management: minister

There is a need to focus on multi-stakeholder approach towards water management with government, corporates and community working together with responsibility to make India water secure and address the gap between water availability and water requirement, said the Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday.  

Delivering the Inaugural Address at FICCI’s 7th edition of India Industry Water Conclave and 9th edition of FICCI Water Awards, he stressed on the need to save every drop of water. “Jal Shakti is Jan Andolan – Every scheme and mission will only be successful with community awareness and participation and the government is extensively working towards this.” 

He also emphasised on the importance of recycling and reuse of waste water and grey water to be used for agriculture, horticulture, groundwater recharge or other non-potable water uses. 

The use of treated water in irrigation and industrial application is important for effective utilisation of available water resources, said Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI said that actions of industry are towards addressing the mismatch between demand and supply based on certain core principles which are sourcing sustainably, replenishing the groundwater responsibly, using efficiently in production, and recycling and reusing the grey water effectively. 

On this occasion, FICCI released the 'Compendium of Best Practices: Recognizing Excellence in Water Management & Conservation’ 2021 which is the compilation of case studies of winners of 9th edition of FICCI Water Awards.