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Manvendra Singh,
MP, Barmer Lok Sabha constituency, Rajasthan |
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How critical are water related problems in your constituency especially since it is an arid part of the country?
Probably, in no other part of India, water is such a critical issue as it is in our constituency. I do not look at the issues as 'water related problems' since water is the problem and other matters can be resolved once the core problem has been addressed. With regards to water and our constituency, availability is the real issue. The lack of awareness in context of management further aggravates the situation.
Unavailability of adequate water has a huge impact on the socio-economic and cultural development in a region. How does it affect Barmer?
The impact is devastating because water is an intrinsic part of our lives. Too much of man power is consumed in fetching water, which could have been used for other productive means. The impact can be seen on children as well. These children get affected, as they have to go and fetch water. In course of time, with lack of water, the entire productive cycle gets disrupted.
Is this problem in certain areas of Barmer or the entire district?
Well, the problem is in the entire constituency. Sewana is slightly less affected but that is only in relative terms. Overall, people in that region are suffering too.
Rajasthan has a wonderful tradition of water harvesting systems like bunds, tanks and wells. Have such practices been adopted in Barmer?
We do have tanks and few bowris. As the population is very sparse, people build tanks close to their homes. Unfortunately, over a period of time, people stopped paying attention to these traditional methods. The oldest bowri in the district is in ruins. This is due to negligence on the part of the state and society.
If water harvesting has been a practice since centuries, how has this negligence occurred over a period of time?
Water harvesting was always the practice. People started neglecting it because they expected the PHED (Public Health and Engineering Department) to provide them water through pipelines. Water through pipelines depends on sub soil extraction of water, which caused depletion of water table. Our constituency that has lowest availability of water also has the highest depletion of sub soil water in the country. In the past decade, water table has gone down by more than ten meters.
What is the level of voluntary sector involvement in water projects in Barmer?
Some of them visit Barmer to hold workshops and give lectures but there is no large presence as such. They focus on handicrafts, Self- Help groups and employment. There is no campaign specific to water.
In 2004, you were the first BJP MP to win from Barmer and you won with majority votes. Water was a major issue in your election manifesto. What has happened since then? What measures have you taken? How much of MPLADS funds have you spent on water harvesting?
Two biggest issues in my campaign were focused on water and opening up the Pakistan border. The Pakistan border has been opened. Resolving water crisis is a long-term effort. I gave 80% of my MP budget for tanks. In the first year as the MP itself, I helped the construction of around 2300 tanks. Also, I do not think that the large water bodies are the solution to the problem. For a highly dispersed population, water harvesting has to be localized.
What is the construction cost of a tank?
Approximately, Rs 25000.
What solutions do you propose for water problem in your area?
Well, the long-term solution is water harvesting. We also need to change the priority from irrigation to drinking water. People expect the PHED to provide them water through pipelines. We are planning to move in that direction as well. About 1600 Crores have been sanctioned to get water from the main source in Nashna to other parts of my constituency through series of lifts and pipelines. It would then be dovetailed into the PHED network and supplied through pipelines.
What do you mean by changing the priority from irrigation to drinking water?
When you make a canal with irrigation in mind, it serves only the farmer around the canal. Instead, if drinking water were a priority, it would have far reaching effects as it would reach more families. In addition, it positively impacts animals. A desert economy depends on cattle and cannot be an agriculturally sustained area. Our sustainability depends on the animals.
What is the status of farming? There is news of bringing less water consuming crops from Israel in dry areas of Rajasthan?
Agriculture depends on rainfall. However, if you bring crops from some other country thinking since those crops worked well there, they are likely to succeed here as well, it is unlikely. The soil in Rajasthan is different from the one in Israel. Plants that were imported and planted here have ruined the growth of local plants. They do not allow local plants to grow. You can't transplant other people's knowledge into your own terrain. The solutions have to be local terrain specific. There is enough expertise and knowledge in the villages. Unfortunately, that's not the same in air-conditioned offices. Indira Gandhi Canal is being extended. What is the progress in this regard?
It's a long-term strategy and the progress has been stopped right now as the project for the Desert National Park is being executed. The canal construction cannot take place through Desert National Park. However, I am not in favor of canal as an irrigation project. My main concern is drinking water for humans and animals. Unfortunately, the government likes big projects because it involves major expenditure and makes contractors happy. They make good brochure of these projects and promote them. However, drinking water is more important than these brochures.
That brings me to another issue, interlinking of rivers. Do you favor it?
I am not in its favor per se. However, I think we can have some interlinking of rivers where it is possible technically and terrain wise without affecting the environmental topography of the local area. It also brings various other problems. For instance, if Rajasthan canal hadn't been constructed, we would never have had Malaria. We did not have mosquitoes and Malaria until the canal was constructed. As a child, I do not remember any mosquitoes in my village. Today, people are dying of malaria.
Aren't these the pros and cons of any developmental project?
Of course, I am not saying that because of malaria you should not have drinking water. But, if the canal project is converted into purely a drinking water and water through pipes replaces open canal, it will be much better. We shall not see seepage, corruption and diseases. Animals will remain healthy too. More than interlinking, conservation of rivers is important. We are not conserving our rivers. If we look at the Ganga and Yamuna it is obvious that water pollution is at its highest magnitude. How can we term a river sacred, when we have polluted the river?
Correct me if I am wrong, you have never raised any question in the parliament, let alone a question on water?
I haven't raised any question because my questions have not been accepted yet. It's a game of chance and I have never succeeded in it both in the parliament and real life. Most of my interventions in the parliament are through debates. Amongst the new MPs, I got the maximum amount of time to speak in debates on global warming, defense or nuclear deal. I hope I am lucky with questions this time.
This is your first experience as a Member of the Parliament. Tell me some of your experiences with the parliament. What were your expectations when you entered the 'hallowed gallery' of the parliament? Did these expectations realize?
Think about the parliament as a club. This club is so exclusive that membership opens once in five years and only for 545 members. A committee does not decide membership and it is decided across the country. It takes lot of work to become a member of this club. Once a member, you realize that there are other members whom you wouldn't invite even for a cup of tea since their values are 'different'. Some are bright and from whom, I have learnt a lot. Even though you want to be member of the club, you realize there are few members you cannot or would not like to associate with.
Does this side of the parliament make you regretful or sad at times that the prestigious club of the country has members with 'different' values?
There is no regret as it's the reality of the society. The members are the ones selected by the society and not through some other means. People have voted them into the parliament. You have to accept the democratic will of the people. It is overwhelming to see that democratic will can be expressed in so many different ways.
Interview by: Ashutosh Bharadwaj, IndianNGOs.com
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