Shillong, Sept 16: The Meghalaya state government is proposing to invest more than Rs. 515 crore to construct water harvesting structures and reservoirs across all 12 districts, aiming to enhance the state’s water storage capacity by 2031.

Under the Climate Adaptive Community-Based Water Harvesting Project in Meghalaya, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the External Aided Projects (EAP), the government plans to develop these structures to address water scarcity issues.

Official sources revealed that the project aims to identify and construct water harvesting structures at over 532 locations statewide, with the timeline set between 2024-2025 and 2030-2031. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs. 515.69 crore.

Sources, however, said that the department does not have any project specifically for the protection and conservation of the Umiew and Ganol Basin. The protection and conservation of the Umiew and Ganol Basins are not being implemented/undertaken by the Soil & Water Conservation department.

Meanwhile, the forest department is in the process of identifying water resources in the state to protect the water resources viz. within Shillong region Riat Laban Reserve Forest, Laitkor Protected Forest, Mawphlang Reservoir in East Khasi Hills, Khri River under Mairang C&RD Block, Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in Garo Hills, Umiam Water Reservoir in Ri Bhoi District, Umphung River in East Jaintia Hills District and Myntdu River in West Jaintia Hills District.

The Soil and Water Conservation department as part of the collaborative efforts with the PHE department will take up two numbers of critical water sources for conservation and rejuvenation works within the Greater Shillong Region, namely, Umpaitmaw under Mylliem Block and Madan Saisiej under Mawpat Block, sources informed.

It may be noted that the KfW- funded protection of vulnerable catchments in Meghalaya (MegARISE) project is still in the inception phase (preparatory stage).

In the Umiew Catchment, a total of 13 micro-watersheds will be treated, covering villages within this micro-watershed.

These villages fall under 5 C&RD Blocks: Khatarshnong Laitkor, Mawkynrew, Mawphlang, Mawryngkneng and Mylliem in the East Khasi Hills District.

Further, sources informed that the government through the MBDA/MBMA has initiated several measures to protect and conserve water sources. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to ensure sustainable water management and improve water availability for the city’s residents.

The key measures taken include field inspections and site assessments, drone surveys for water volume estimation, springs mapping and data collection, protection planning for water sources and stream documentation and river mapping.

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