COMMUNITY INITIATIVE ON RAIN WATER HARVESTING

ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs December 9, 2022 GS3 Leave a comment 175 Views

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 with the convergence of States’ schemes including people’s active participation.
One such major initiatives of Government of include ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan-I’ (JSA-I) 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 in the current year has been launched on 29 March, 2022 in all districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country with the main theme “Catch the Rain, where it falls, when it falls”.
Water conservation and rainwater harvesting is one of the focused interventions of the campaign. States are converging resources from available Central and States’ resources. National Water Policy, inter-alia, advocates water conservation and rain water harvesting.

· Water Conservation & Rain Water Harvesting

· 2,73,256

· Renovation of Traditional & Other Water Bodies/Tanks

· 44,497

· Reuse and Recharge Structures

· 1,42,740

· Watershed Development

· 1,59,354

· Intensive Afforestation

· (Saplings planted)

· 12,35,99,566

· Block Water Conservation Plan

· 1,372

The progress of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign of 2021 as uploaded on JSA:CTR Portal (jsactr.mowr.nic.in) from 22.3.2021 to 28.03.2022 are as follows:-
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; 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 Rs. 65,666 crore. States/UTs have also been directed to utilized their own resources.
The progress of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2022 campaign since 29.3.2022 as on 02.12.2022 are as follows:-

Water Conservation & Rainwater Harvesting Structures: 10,59,888;

(ii) Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies: 2,34,621;

(iii) Reuse and Recharge Structures: 7,21,293;

(iv) Watershed Development: 13,32,673; Intensive Afforestation: 78,31,49,273;

(vi) Total Jal Shakti Kendra established till date 606;

(viii) Training Programmes/ Kisan Melas: 54,433;

(viii) Scientific water conservation plan prepared 260. The above details include completed as well as ongoing works. Actual expenditure from MGNREGS funds was Rs. 18,066 crore.

No specific study on this issue is available in this Department. 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 and also in “Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water in India – 2020”, i

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

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