Workshop on “National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme” held in Chandigarh

May 10, 2024 2:37 pm

Published by: PreetiMahajan

Chandigarh, March 3

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), North Western Region, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India organized one-day Regional Workshop on “National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) Programme” on 2nd March 2023 at Hotel JW Marriott, Chandigarh. This workshop was organised in alliance with the States of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Jammu & Ladakh.

Governor of Punjab, Banwarilal Purohit was the Chief-Guest, Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Hon’ble Governor of Punjab, Keshni Anand Arora, Chairperson from Haryana Water Resource Authority (HWRA), Sushil Gupta, Member of Punjab Water Resource Development Authority (PWRDA), and Sunil Kumar, Chairman of CGWB were the Guest of honour. Approximately 200 Scientific Officers and NGOs participated in the workshop.

The program initiated with a welcome address from Anurag Khanna, Regional Director of CGWB, NWR, Chandigarh and was proceeded by Sunil Kumar, Chairman, CGWB who enlightened the dignitaries on the objective of workshop, NAQUIM outputs and findings. The program continued with address by Sh. Sushil Gupta, Member, PWRDA and Chairperson, HWRA. The address was followed by Release of various publications of CGWB, Chandigarh.

The program progressed with the address by Governor of Punjab, Banwarilal Purohit who put forward his views that Groundwater is an important natural resource for national economy, water & food security. He mentioned on the Major Challenges in groundwater management-depletion of groundwater levels, deterioration of groundwater quality, waterlogging in Command areas and emphasized on the need of crop diversification. He talked about various efforts and schemes of Ministry of Jal Shakti like Namami Ganga, Jal shakti Abhiyan etc.

The inaugural function ended with a vote of thanks by A.K. Agrawal, Member, CGWB. National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) programme has been taken up by CGWB with the objective of delineation of aquifers, identification of the major issues on Ground Water and preparation of management plans for sustainable management of Ground Water. During the workshop, presentations will be made on the findings of NAQUIM with successful case studies, Managed Aquifer Recharge, Ground Water Regulation and Management and Rejuvenation of Springs in hilly areas. The workshop aimed to disseminate findings of NAQUIM studies amongst the stakeholders and the policy makers.

The inaugural function was followed by four technical session where S.K. Mohiddin (Senior Hydrogeologist), Gyanendra Rai (STA-HG), Parveen Kaur (Sc-C), M.L. Angurala (Sc-D), Chandrayee De (Sc-C), Sanjay Pandey (Sc-B) from CGWB & Pankaj Mahala, Chief hydrologist, GWC, Gurbinder Singh Dhillon, DWSC, Punjab, Babaji Gurpreet Singh Ji, Guru Sahib Charitable society, Moga, Vinay Kumar Singh, Minor Irrigation department, Uttrakhand, Abishek Likam, Central Himalayan Rural Action group (CHIRAG), Dr. Madhuri Rishi, Punjab University, Dr. Renu Khosla, Director, CURE-NGO, HP and Jyoti Sharma, CEO, FORCE, NGO gave presentations on NAQUIM program, its implementation and various success stories on water conservation and mananagement in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir. They also informed about various schemes of Central & State Govt. such as Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PMKSY) – Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP), National Hydrology Project (NHP), Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Mera Paani Meri Virasat, Micro Irrigation Schemes etc. based on outcomes of NAQUIM studies which has benefitted stakeholders at the grass root level and sustainable management of ground water resources.

The Chairperson heading the technical section recommended to take up collaborative studies with various departments and research institutes and ensure sharing of data. The chairperson also answered to various queries coming from the delegates and gave useful suggestions