Water is becoming a scarce natural resource and there is an urgent need to conserve it, says minister for water resources, Pawan Kumar Bansal. In conversation with Yeshi Seli, he points out that the objective of his ministry is to act as a catalyst in sensitising people on the need to use water judiciously and also to harvest it. Many states are actively following this now Is your ministry playing an active part in rainwater harvesting? We are propagating the adoption of rainwater harvesting in all states, as water is fast becoming a scarce natural resource; there is an urgent need to save every drop and also use methods to store it when it rains. Rainwater harvesting has been a success story in all the places it has been used so far. In rural areas - where water is largely required for irrigation - we have given a subsidy of Rs4,000 to small and marginal farmers to recharge groundwater. This scheme is being followed in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The total dug wells in these seven states is 44.5 lakh and the total cost of the entire project will be approximately Rs1,800 crore, of which, Rsl,537 crore has already been released through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (nabard). What about rainwater harvesting in urban areas? Different schemes have been undertaken by the government for artificial recharge by the Central Ground Water Board and Rsl00 crore has been allocated under the 11th Plan for this. So far, 11 states/Union Territories have enacted a law for groundwater development. These are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Besides, four Union Territories have mandated roof-top rainwater harvesting under an executive law and 18 other states have initiated action, while surprisingly, six states feel it's not necessary to enact any legislation in this direction yet. Interlinking of rivers can solve many water scarcity-related problems. Has any progress been made on this front? Yes, interlinking of rivers could source water for an additional 35 million hectares of land. The National Water Development Authority has prepared a feasibility study on 16 interlinks, out of which, five have been identified as priority links, for which consensus has to be built across different states. However, the two links for which some headway has been made are the Ken (Uttar Pradesh) and Betwa (Madhya Pradesh) rivers. The project report is ready and further comments are awaited. The second project is the Pollavaram, which is on the interlinking of Godavari and Krishna rivers. An investment clearance has been given for the same by the Planning Commission. What is being done to manage floods? The management of floods is under our ministry, while providing relief lies with the home ministry. The best way to manage floods is through interlinking of rivers and recharging of groundwater. Flood management is also a state subject and under this, state sector schemes are planned, executed and funded by the state governments. The role of our ministry is technical; it is a catalyst and promotional in nature. The Centre's assistance is provided to state governments for river management, flood control, anti-erosion works, drainage development and flood proofing. For special states, 90 per cent support is provided by the Centre. These are the Northeastern states, Sikkim, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For the remaining states, 75 per cent support is extended by the government. Around 22 flood management projects across nine states are underway at an estimated cost of Rs562 crore. Your ministry has been propagating the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (aibp). Can you elaborate on this? This programme was initiated in 1996 and the objective was to cover 148 million hectares (mha) of land under irrigation. At present, 105 mha of land is under irrigation. To ensure that the entire area is under irrigation, this programme could go beyond 2015. The project cost is over Rs7 lakh crore. The 11th Plan target is to cover 16 mha, but it is unlikely to achieve this target. How should water be priced? The pricing of water is a state subject and depends on municipal bodies. But I feel it's high time that we paid the right price for water as this too will help prevent wastage - whether domestic or industrial.