Odisha Scores Poorly In Niti Aayog's Water Management Index

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has slipped from 9th rank in 2015-16 to 13th position in 2016-17 in the composite water management index (CWMI) released by the Niti Aayog. While the Water Resources department of the State has acknowledged the failure, the continuous drop in water management rankings has raised serious concerns.

Niti Aayog's CWMI ranks states based on 28 different indicators covering various aspects like ground water level, restoration of water bodies, sanitation, irrigation, farming practices, drinking water, policy and governance.

Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress have targeted the ruling-BJD after the drop in rankings alleging that the State government's failure in water management is a symbol of lack of interest towards the problem that the people here might face in the future.

"We have totally failed in water management," said Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik adding that in the last 20 years, the State government has not come up with any major irrigation policy to restore the ground water and Odisha may slip further to 28th position in future.

Prithviraj Harichandan, Odisha BJP's general secretary, said that the State government has failed in water management and it's unfortunate that the State is continuously dropping in the index.

However, the BJD hit back at the BJP stating that the Odisha government is doing all that it could with all the money it has. "Without giving assistance, why are they are (BJP government at the Centre) raising the management issue? We are doing whatever we can," said BJD MLA Pratap Deb.

Deb further said that the BJP should give details of the money it has sanctioned for the State towards water management and then the truth will come out.