Haryana CM approves implementation "National Hydrology Project"

Haryana Government decided to implement National Hydrology Project in the state with Central assistance.

Facts :

• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has given approval for implementation of the Rs 50-crore National Hydrology Project to be set up in the state with 100 per cent assistance from the Centre.
• The project aimed at improving the extent, quality and accessibility of information about water resources, and strengthening the capacity of water resource management institutions in the country.
• The direct beneficiaries of the project include central and state implementing agencies responsible for surface and/or ground water planning and management.
• The ultimate beneficiaries would be farm communities selected for pilot projects, rural and urban water and power users and people affected by floods and droughts, and such families may benefit from improved irrigation water supply and management.
• The central assistance had been allotted to Haryana for implementation of the project in four components — improving water resources monitoring system, water resources information system, water resources management application and institutions and capacity building.
• A Memorandum of Agreement and Financial Management under the National Hydrology Project has already been signed between the Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Haryana and the Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• The project would establish monitoring networks in Haryana, with a focus on deploying new sensors, data storage and telemetry technologies across the state, to establish comprehensive, modern and automated real-time monitoring systems for surface and ground water.

National Hydrology Project :

• The Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India has started the National Hydrology Project with the help of World Bank. This project is the next phase of the former Hydrology Project Phase-II. The agreement was signed on 23.6.2016 between the International Bank of
• Reconstruction and Development (I.B.R.D.) and the Government of India, having total allocation is Rs.3678.7677 Crores. The project is effective from November,2016. The duration of the project is 8 years and is likely to be completed by 2024. In this project, BBMB has been allocated Rs. 30.00 Crores.

Vision :

• To increase the area, quality and user base of water related data across the country and make this data available online on the Internet.
• Providing the complete database available to users of different areas.
• There will be two types of groups which will get benefit from this project
  a.Central Agencies
  b.State Agencies
• Under this, WRIS (Water Resources Information Sector) developed and used in various areas such as energy, water transport, irrigation, educational institutions of agriculture and research centers and non-government institutions and social & private institutions.
• Improve the quality and functioning of the respective offices and institutions and make them consistent with high standards.
• The National Hydrology Project is being implemented in 29 states and 11 central agencies. The following States and Central Agencies are participating in this project:

States: Andhra Pradesh,Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamilnadu, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Goa,Puducherry( States under H.P.-II) and Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telengana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Delhi (new
states)

Central Agencies: MoWR, CWC, CGWB, CWPRS, NIH, IMD, BBMB, CPCB (under HP-II) and SOI, NRSA, DVC (New agencies).

The NHP will result in the improvement of:

• Data storage, exchange, analysis and dissemination through National Water Informatics Centre.
• Lead time in flood forecast from 1 day to at least 3 days.
• Mapping of flood inundation areas for use by the disaster management authorities.
• Assessment of surface and ground water resources in a river basin for better planning & allocation for PMKSY and other schemes of Govt. of India.
• Reservoir operations through seasonal yield forecast, drought management, SCADA systems, etc.
• Design of SW & GW structures, hydropower units, interlinking of rivers, Smart Cities.
• Fulfilling the objectives of Digital India.
• People Centric approach: The programme envisages ultimate aim for water management through scientific data collection, dissemination of information on water availability in all blocks of the country and establishing of National Water Information Centre. The automated systems for Flood Forecasting is aimed to reduce water disaster ultimately helping vulnerable population. It is people and farmer centric programme as information on water can help in predicting water availability and help farmers to plan their crops and other farm related activities. Through this programme India would make a place among nations known for scientific endeavours.

Background :

• The National Hydrology Project (NHP) is intended for setting up of a system for timely and reliable water resources data acquisition, storage, collation and management. It will also provide tools/systems for informed decision making through Decision Support Systems (DSS) for water resources assessment, flood management, reservoir operations, drought management, etc. NHP also seeks to build capacity of the State and Central sector organisations in water resources management through the use of Information Systems and adoption of State-of-the-art technologies like Remote Sensing.
• The MoWR, RD&GR has adopted a paradigm shift in the management of water resources of the country by adopting a river basin approach, In order to efficiently use and manage water resources of the country; adequacy of data, resource assessment, decision support systems, etc. are a prerequisite for allocation and prioritization of this fast depleting resource.
   

By: Harman Sandhu