C. V. Ananda Bose, former IAS officer, author and an expert on environmental and habitat issues, said overarching legislations are required to conserve and make optimal use of water as it involves often-contradictory stances of various departments and Ministries.
He was speaking at the 21st edition of Beyond Square Feet, a triannual lecture series organised in connection with the World Water Day by Asset Homes at Hotel O by Tamara in Thiruvananthapuram.
“This year’s Water Day theme is ‘Groundwater – making the invisible visible’ and this is all the more relevant as the percentage of groundwater available on earth is only 0.6% of the various forms of water available. Out of it, about 97.2% is in the oceans and inland seas, 2.1% in glaciers, less than 1% each in the atmosphere, lakes and rivers and in all living plants and animals. Only the balance 0.6% is in groundwater and soil moisture,” he pointed out.
Mr. Bose also said desalination of seawater and rainwater harvesting is indispensable to ensure sufficiency of clean and safe drinking water and praised the Saudi Arabian model for making the former effective.
“But when it comes to increasing the efficiency of irrigation dams and the like, various departments lock horns citing archaic laws. Here, we need overarching legislations. A holistic approach is the need of the hour, and compartmentalisation in crucial issues such as water conservation should be avoided at any cost. The responsibility of society is also of vital importance,” he said.
Sunil Kumar V., Managing Director, Asset Homes, and Ajay Prasad, Managing Director, Taurus Holdings also spoke on the occasion. Asset Homes has been organising Beyond Square Feet lecture series thrice every year on world environment, water and habitat days.
Rammohan Paliyath
