Kerala has improved its ranking in the National Hydrology Project (NHP) by bagging the eighth spot at the national level in the surface water category.
The results of the NHP mid-term review were declared in New Delhi on Tuesday. The State had stood 13th in the previous assessment, according to the State Water Resources Department. The rankings are based on criteria such as assessment of annual rainfall and water flow in rivers, real-time data collection, conduct of training programmes and data digitisation. Kerala scored 49.3 points out of 100 to secure the eighth position.
On the other hand, in the groundwater category, Kerala has been relegated to the 24th position, which fell in the ‘unsatisfactory’ list in the NHP rankings.
The mid-term review ranked surface water and groundwater agencies in the States, UTs and river basin organisations (RBO).
Gujarat and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) bagged the first and second spots in the surface water category. Rajasthan stood third.
Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty, in a Facebook message, attributed the improvement in the State’s position to the systematic work of the Irrigation Design and Research Board (IDRB) under the Irrigation Department.
In all, 44 agencies including the States and Union Territories are involved in the World Bank-assisted NHP.
Kerala has been allocated ₹42 crore for NHP-related works.
The NHP gains in relevance for Kerala against the backdrop of the 2018 and 2019 floods. It will enable the State to design and develop projects for the protection of water resources and their sustainable utilisation, the Minister said.
