Nagaland Government Plans to Introduce Integrated Water Management Plan in the State

Nagaland government is bringing up new and challenging developments into the state and the recent plannings of planting an integrated strategy for water resources development and management is an instance that shows its effort to work for the welfare of its people. As the integrated water management plan will ensure water conservation along with minimizing water wastage and equitable distribution both across and within the state, there are many chances of its being implemented very soon by the state government.

Keeping this as an objective, an ‘inception workshop’ to develop a State Specific Action Plan (SSAP) under the National Water Mission (NWM) for Nagaland state was also held in Kohima on October 12. Through this workshop, the government aims to prepare an action plan as this will facilitate the formulation of the SSAP along with also reflecting the needs of all stakeholders.

As per the statement of the Nodal Officer, SSAP, Er Razouvolie Kelio, this mission is the forms the core of the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) and envisions a plan for the next 30 years.

A report on the present status of the water resources development and management, water governance, institutional arrangement, water-related policies, cross-boundary issues and agreements etc, everything will be prepared by the SSAP ahead of the setting up of the Water Management Plan. This report will also help in identifying the key issues and problems related to water management. This report will guide the state government in preparing the strategies and planning the activities along with also assessing the impact of climate change.

Kelio said that the State Water Resources Department is vested with the responsibilities of Nodal State Department for the preparation of SSAP and there is a two-tier committee in it—a State Level Steering Committee (SLSC) headed by the Chief Secretary; and a State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) headed by the Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Water Resources, Nagaland.