Mukhathala block begins to prepare the first water budget in Kollam

Mukhathala block will be the first local body in Kollam to have a water budget as part of Navakeralam action plan and the project will be coordinated by Haritha Keralam Mission. The State currently experiences drought-like conditions for six months after the rainy season and floods and landslides during the monsoon. The water budget will be a step towards addressing the issue while taking into account various factors including the topography, the availability of rainfall, depletion of water resources and changes in land. According to officials, it will be part of scientific and sustainable efforts to find permanent solutions. The quantity of water available in each region and the amount of water required to meet its various needs will be accurately, scientifically and systematically calculated and based on that suitable methods will be adopted to solve the deficit in water availability. “As part of preparing such a water budget the work for this has started in Mukhathala block,” said Haritha Keralam coordinator S.Issac.
All the five panchayats in the block will prepare individual budgets and the block-level budget will be formulated by combining them. Haritha Kerala Mission aims to release the water budget on March 22, the World Water Day. As part of the project, the water requirement in each area and possible changes in future will be calculated. It will also fix the volume of water needed to ensure the flow of various waterbodies in the local body. If the availability of water is more than sufficient during monsoon, the budget will mainly focus on summer requirement. The budget will be jointly prepared by Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Department of Water Resources, Haritha Keralam Mission and the LSGs concerned.
Rainwater availability, various water sources, rainwater harvesting, wells and tube wells, land utilization, various types of water supply, agriculture, irrigation methods and animal husbandry are among the criteria for preparation of water budget. The quantity of water consumption in offices, institutions, commercial establishments and industrial units will also be calculated. “Haritha Keralam Mission aims to prepare the water budget in all the local bodies of the district based on the model of Mukhatala block,” added Mr Issac.