Water is a State subject and the Central Government supplements the efforts of the States on water conservation and recharge: Bishweswar Tudu

New Delhi : Water is a State subject and the Central Government supplements the efforts of the States on water conservation and recharge, including rainwater conservation and its harvesting, through technical and financial support. However, Government of India has been implementing various schemes for rainwater conservation and its harvesting convergence with the schemes of the State Governments and with people’s participation. One of the such major initiatives of the Central Government include implementation of ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ (JSA) in 1,592 blocks of 256 water-stressed districts of the country during July to November 2019 to promote water conservation and water resource management by focusing on water conservation & rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, reuse, and recharge of bore wells, watershed development and intensive afforestation. Third in the series of JSA, ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain’ – 2022 was launched on 29 March, 2022 in all districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country with the theme “Catch the Rain, where it falls, when it falls”. Water conservation and rainwater harvesting is one of the focused interventions of the campaign. National Water Policy, inter-alia, advocates water conservation and rain water harvesting. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), (AMRUT-II), Atal Bhujal Yojana, etc also include rain water harvesting.

Interventions Progress under JSA-2019 was as under:-

The progress of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign of 2021 as uploaded on JSA:CTR Portal (jsactr.mowr.gov.in) from 22.3.2021 to 28.03.2022 is as follows:-

1. Water Conservation & Rainwater Harvesting Structures: 16,22,957; (ii) Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies: 2,96,958; (iii) Reuse and Recharge Structures: 8,31,961; (iv) Watershed Development: 19,18,395; (v) Intensive Afforestation: 36,75,68,460; and Training Programmes/ Kisan Melas: 43,631. The above details include completed as well as ongoing works. Actual expenditure from MGNREGS funds was about Rs. 65,666 crore. States/UTs have also been requested to utilize their own resources.

The progress of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2022 campaign since 29.3.2022 as on 31.01.2023 is as follows:-

(i) Water Conservation & Rainwater Harvesting Structures: 11,94,676; (ii) Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies: 2,61,097; (iii) Reuse and Recharge Structures: 8,58,091; (iv) Watershed Development: 15,87,268; (v) Intensive Afforestation: 78,37,97,693; (vi) Total Jal Shakti Kendra established till date 607; (viii) Training Programmes/ Kisan Melas: 55,271; and (viii) Scientific water conservation plan prepared 264. The above details include completed as well as ongoing works. Actual expenditure from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds is Rs. 22,666 crore.

No specific study is available. However, various methods commonly used for rain water harvesting including house-hold level have been described in the “Manual on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water” available in the public domain at the following URL: http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/Manual-Artificial-Recharge.pdf.

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.