Karnataka Labour and Employment Minister and Dharwad district in-charge Santosh Lad has warned officials of criminal action and suspension if negligence delays measures to tackle a possible water crisis in the district in the coming months.
Speaking at a Karnataka Development Programme meeting on Friday, Lad urged residents to use water sparingly and avoid wastage, saying the severity of the drought situation in the coming days remained difficult to predict. He asked the public to exercise caution in its daily use of water.
“People should use water judiciously and avoid wastage. It is difficult to predict how severe the drought situation could be in the coming days. The public must therefore be cautious in using water,” Lad said, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle.
The minister said the government had started preparations after discussions with officials from various departments. Areas that could face shortages had been identified, and the administration had decided on measures to be implemented if the situation worsened.
Lad’s warning focused on the gap between planning and execution. He said officials would be held responsible if schemes designed to address water shortages were not implemented or maintained properly. “If there is negligence in the implementation or maintenance of these schemes, criminal cases will be initiated against the officials concerned,” he said.
He also directed senior officers to review the work of their subordinates every day and assign clear responsibilities to individual officials. Those who failed to discharge their duties would face suspension, he said.
The warning places responsibility for Dharwad’s water-crisis preparations across the departments involved in identifying vulnerable areas, implementing response measures and maintaining related schemes. The report does not specify the areas identified for possible shortages, the schemes covered by the review, or the timelines for their implementation.
For residents, the immediate advisory is to reduce avoidable consumption while the administration prepares for a possible deterioration in water availability. The government’s response, as described at the meeting, combines public conservation with departmental planning and daily monitoring by senior officers.
The next steps announced by the district administration are the identification of areas at risk, implementation of the agreed measures if conditions worsen, and continuing reviews of subordinate officials’ work. Lad has said that failures in execution or maintenance could lead to criminal cases and suspension.
