SHILLONG, JULY 15: Despite the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) last year that twenty-eight out of the thirty-one water bodies in six districts of Meghalaya are highly contaminated and “unfit to drink”, the Meghalaya government do not seems to be in any particular hurry to come out with its much awaited “Water Policy.”
Last year, one of the major rivers of the state – River Kynshi is reportedly polluted so much that it has affected the aquatic lives in the river. Similar case was also reported way back in 2007 when the River Lukha in Jaintia hills changed its colour to blue killing thousands of fishes and other aquatic lives.
Reports have revealed that the major cause of river pollution is mostly due to unscientific coal mining. The rivers flowing in Jaintia hills district are the ones that are badly affected because of coal mining and now the districts are facing acute scarcity of drinking water.
When contacted to get the reason for the delay in framing the water policy, the Meghalaya deputy chief minister ( who holds the Water Resources department portfolio) said, “The state water policy is still in its final drafting stage.” He also hinted that the completion of the drafting process might take little longer.
Lyngdoh defended the delay saying that the department is still in the process of incorporating the views and suggestions of the different departments as well as stakeholders in the draft policy.
Lyngdoh, however, assured that the state government has decided to have a water policy which would also address issues relating to protection, preservation and conservation of the water bodies besides others.
Lyngdoh said, “Broad guidelines and directions would be laid so far as protection and preservation of the rivers is concerned.” But he informed that the implementation of the policy will largely depend on the different departments.”
Revealing that there is no proper study on the quantity of water that is available in the state, Lyngdoh said, “The water policy will to a great extent help in understanding the amount of water available for the state so that its distribute in term of irrigation, drinking and other purposes can be made evenly.”
Quality control would also form the integral part of the purpose of having the water policy in place, Lyngdoh concluded.- By Our Reporter
Maybe we should name the Policy ‘Water Policy University’ then they would pass all policies blindly in a day….What would you expect from a Govt that encourages scams and corruptions openly ….and do not care about providing good water supply, healthcare, education, roads, security, etc and do not care to protect the rivers and streams and Forest and Environment…