Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat says the Government has done a lot of work to make the country self-reliant on the water front. “We did well on the Jal Swavlamban Yojana; the fall in groundwater across the country can be contained by this scheme. Unfortunately, it became a victim of politics and no further work could be done,” he told IANS.

Shekhawat said even as the country continues its fight against coronavirus, “we will have to work very seriously about the water crisis.”

In an exclusive interview with IANS, the Minister describes the seriousness of the water scarcity as well as solutions even as summer peaks in northern India. On water availability, he said the Government has got a survey of 132 water reservoirs done out of 5,000 such water bodies in the country. “I am happy to note that there is 56 per cent more water in the country’s reservoirs as compared to last year. This rise in water level is the highest in the last one decade,” he said.