There is a fall in water level in 62 reservoirs monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC) since May, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha today.
Replying to a query, Minister of State for Water Resources Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that the CWC monitors live storage of 85 reservoirs in the country on weekly basis and issues Reservoir Bulletin.
Comparison between Reservoir Bulletin of July 3, 2014 and May 29, 2014 indicates fall in water level of 62 reservoirs, out of the 85.
Noting that the utilisation of available water resources for various uses is within the purview of respective state governments, he said that the the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture has informed that the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) has prepared 520 district level crop contingency plans to deal with weak monsoon situation.
To another related question, Gangwar said the CWC issued an advisory in April, 2004 to all state governments to assess the total water availability during the oncoming monsoon season and to plan allocations in respect of drinking water and irrigation accordingly so that water available during the hydrologic year 2014-15 is utilised optimally.
