THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is the worst performer among southern states when it comes to effective management of water resources, as per the latest Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) prepared by NITI Aayog for the period 2016-17.CWMI is first-of-its-kind, comprehensive scorecard for identifying, targeting and solving problems in the water sector across the country. It comprises 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators.At the national level, Kerala is ranked 12 with a score of 42 among non-Himalayan states. Only four non-Himalayan states and four north-eastern and Himalayan states are ranked below Kerala. The report notes that 60% of states (14 out of 24) have achieved scores below 50 and have been classified as low performers.Kerala is the only low performer in south and other low performers are mainly concentrated across the populous agricultural belts of north and east India , and among the north-eastern and Himalayan states.The low-performer tag for the state comes at a time when LDF government has been aggressively pushing Haritha Keralam Mission which also entails water conservation activities. As part of this, 16,665 wells were recharged, canals were cleaned (a total of 2,487 km) and revived (1,391 km), 11,028 ponds were revived and streams (9,540.7 km) were rejuvenated. An amount of Rs 3.5 crore has been allotted in the state budget for 2018-19 for the conservation activities.Also, the annual rainfall received by the state was less than the state average of 3,000mm in 2015 and 2016. Analysis of data from observation wells maintained by department of groundwater also shows that 62% wells recorded dip in water levels compared to the data of April 2018 and decade average between 2008 and ‘17. Of these, 93% wells recorded a dip of 0-2 metres. Despite the adverse conditions, the state’s performance in water is not up to the mark.The index also highlights that the state has not segregated power feeders on farm use and has negligible micro-irrigation coverage. It notes that only 50% of urban population has access to water and only less than 10% of waste water is treated for re-use across the state.The state budget for 2017-18 has allocated Rs 18 crore for rain water harvesting and groundwater recharging. An amount of Rs 124.32 lakh was spent on 83 artificial ground water rejuvenation schemes and five recharging schemes. Kerala Water Authority has allocated Rs 452.5 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 438 crore in 2017-18 for various water supply schemes. Amount to the tune of Rs 60 crore was allocated in two fiscals between 2016 and 2018 for the groundwater department.“ There had never been proper initiatives to conserve and revive water resources. We have no problem in using drinking water to wash vehicles. We still have a long way to go in terms of controlled and recycled use of water,” said T N Seema, executive vice-chairperson of the mission.

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