“Providing free power to farmers has encouraged excessive use of pump sets and excessive drawing of ground water. If there is economic pricing of power, there would be some incentive for conserving ground water,” he said, inaugurating the National Congress on Ground Water in New Delhi.

Water conservation and management could be better served through appropriate incentives and penalties, Singh said.

Talking about how climate change could affect water availability in the country, he said “Given the threat of climate change and global warming, we face the real prospect of reduced supply of water. This threat is of particular concern to us in India since we depend on glaciers for water supply in this part of our sub-continent,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the Panchayati Raj institutions and municipalities and local bodies, along with civil society organisations, have a critical and vital role to play in this. Chennai came in for special praise. “We have the impressive example of Chennai city that has a city-based, neighbourhood-based strategy for water conservation,” he said. “Every village, every locality, every neighbourhood, every town should have rainwater harvesting scheme. Panchayats must be actively engaged in ground water recharging and renovation and maintenance of water bodies.”

Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz said a scheme for “Dug Well Recharge” is in the process of formulation for implementation in hard rock areas of seven states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu — in the current year. The scheme will benefit the small and marginal farmers.

“There are nearly 20 million dug wells and shallow and deep tube wells in the country, which implies that there are nearly 20 million decision makers in relation to the use of ground water,” said MP M S Swaminathan.

“The water crisis being experienced in some parts of the country is more related to water management than to water scarcity. Therefore, we need a massive water literacy movement,” he said.

The one-day Congress was held to think of new ways to deal with demand management of ground water to address challenges of its more efficient, economical and rational use.