Chandigarh, Jan 21 (IANS): Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Saturday said the government is reviving dead borewells with a budget allocation of Rs 1,100 crore.

Addressing the media in Faridabad, Chautala announced the initiation of a campaign by the Awaaz Foundation and Rotary Club to revive 100 stalled borewells.

He said a significant number of borewells in Faridabad had stopped functioning as a result of the decline in groundwater level. A large number of people are not getting portable drinking water. He said when this matter came to notice, an expert agency was hired that carried out studies.

"It came to our notice that people in Maharashtra are working on reviving the stalled borewells. They were contacted and the entire work was taken up by Awaaz Foundation and Rotary Club. Now this project is being started in Faridabad city and initially 100 borewells will be revived."

He said in this project a borewell will cost Rs 50,000. Rotary Club and Awaaz Foundation will jointly contribute to it.

In response to a question, he said after Faridabad it will gradually begin in the entire state in collaboration with other organizations.

He further said there are many districts in the state where there has been a problem as the water level has gone down considerably especially in districts along the banks of the Yamuna.

He said the government has come forward in the direction of water conservation. "It is necessary to install rainwater harvesting systems during the construction of houses. At the same time, if a farmer wants to install this water recharge bore system in his fields, then the government is giving them a subsidy of up to 75 per cent."

The Deputy Chief Minister said whether it is the farmer or the government, until and unless "we act like a responsible citizen, this serious issue cannot be resolved."