Bihar CM Nitish Kumar fears another drought spell, flags drying up of water bodies

Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said he feared another spell of drought in Bihar and asked all the elected representatives to take cognisance.

The state witnessed drought-like situation in 24 districts in 2018.

“Going by the weather pattern so far, I fear Bihar could be in for another drought. The signals from environment are dangerous. Rivers are drying up, water bodies disappearing, temperature increasing and rainfall falling. I will convene a meeting with all members of the two Houses separately to get a first-hand feel from them about the situation in their areas so that collective efforts could be made,” he said while speaking on the adjournment motion moved by the Opposition on AES deaths.

“Now, time has come to create greater consciousness among the masses, as the unpredictability of the nature is there for all of use to see. Nobody can say what turn the nature will take. Now, there are more incidents of lightning, but less rainfall. Even a district like Darbhanga is facing water crisis,” he said.

Maintaining that Bihar’s underground water was also under growing stress due to unbridled exploitation, he warned there would be a day when things could get even worse, if the society did not respond to the challenge unitedly. “It is not something the government can do alone. We all have to work hand in hand to face nature’s challenge and create awareness. Therefore, I want all the members to share their experiences on environment before new challenges emerge,” the CM said.

The Nitish Kumar government is also set to come up with a bill, called the Bihar Ground Water Conservation Bill, 2019, in the ongoing budget session to ensure better management and conservation of ground water. Bihar was said to be a water-surplus state till a couple of decades ago, but things have deteriorated fast.

The bill will pave the way for a separate Bihar State Ground Water Conservation Authority, which will have various districtlevel authorities. Its objective will be not only to regulate water use, but also focus on water conservation by building ponds, recharging of earth and bringing about behavioural change for sustainability.

One of the significant powers vested in the authority will be to act against encroachment on any water body or any disturbance. In Bihar, especially in the water surplus northern region, dried up river bodies and vanishing ponds have already started causing serious water crisis despite the huge tract of Indo-gangetic plain. The chief minister has been very particular about it and has also asked for revival of old ponds and traditional irrigation systems.

The Bihar Legislative Assembly has also set up a new committee for the first time that will look into the aspects of environmental conservation and pollution control. The environmental conservation and pollution control committee will be headed by Subodh Rai, JD-U MLA from Sultanganj.