Bengaluru: Capt S Raja Rao, former secretary, environment and minor irrigation, government of Karnataka, known for his expertise on water resources and conservation, has submitted a comprehensive paper to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office (PMO) on water management, with a view to getting optimum use of this precious natural resource.

The paper touches upon several aspects related to water. From the issue of increasing the availability of ground water and surface water to the legal issues to be addressed in priority in this regard, Rao has given every possible detail so that it benefits the society as a whole.

How to increase groundwater?

The paper gives several solutions to increase groundwater.

1. Groundwater is one of the most important sources of water. It is imperative that we sustain this so that the water needs are met. In this regard, the water expert has suggested that there is an urgent need to desilt and strengthen all the existing minor irrigation tanks and zilla parishad tanks in the state in a time-bound programme.

2. Next in line are useful methods like rainwater harvesting, construction of check dams and percolation tanks in a big way across the nation and in the shortest span possible.

3. The offsets (empty space available around a building) are generally concretised, leaving no space for water that falls on it to seep or percolate into the ground. If stipulating at least 10 to 15% of the plot area remain as “natural earth”, it will go a long way in facilitating ground water to seep in.

Speaking to MyNation, the water expert, who has more than 55 years of experience in the field of water resources, environment and pollution control said, “The solution is there. We need to implement certain rules and regulations. Government should have the will power to help the posterity.”