The World Bank has approved Rs 6,000-crore Atal Bhujal Yojana which aims to improve groundwater management in priority areas through community participation over a period of five years. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which have 25 percent of the total number of overexploited, critical and semi-critical blocks in terms of groundwater, have been identified as priority areas under the scheme.
The Tamil Nadu government has announced its decision to ban the manufacture and use of a host of plastic products in the state from January 1, 2019. The plastic used in packaging certain materials such as milk, curd and medicine have been exempted. The government announced that the ban, brought under the Environment Protection Act of 1986, gives sufficient time for those involved in the manufacturing of plastic as well as users to move away from disposables to reusable options.
The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority is looking to adopt the ‘toilet-to-tap’ concept of recycling wastewater to meet the water needs of its new capital, Amaravati. The authority plans to recycle wastewater from all household in the 217-sq km capital region and supply it for irrigation, landscaping and other domestic purposes. Necessary wastewater recycling infrastructure is being put in place and 13 sewage treatment plants are expected to come up across the city.
The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority is considering a proposal to make viability gap funding available to private players engaged in sewage treatment. The overall aim is to make the running of sewage treatment plants a viable business opportunity in order to streamline the process and minimise the amount of untreated sewage from entering the waterbodies. As per the policy, treated water could be sold to industries or farmers at a mutually agreed rate.
The Uttarakhand government is keen on coming out with a plan to provide all households in the state with piped drinking water supply by the year 2022. Towards this end, the state government plans to map all of its 12,000 strong water sources in a phased manner. The state initiated a campaign in May to create awareness about the need to preserve and recharge water sources. The public campaign is expected to come to a close on June 30.
This is a roundup of important policy matters published between June 5 and 11, 2018. Also, read the news this week.