8-Aug-2022: De-Silting of Rivers

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), on the basis of analysis of 25 years of data of river Yamuna has informed that, in general, there has been bed level changes in deep channel in the range of 1 to 2 meter which include erosion as well as deposition. Major changes in bed profile have been observed in the years of high floods. Based on a Detailed Project Report completed in January 2020, IWAI has assessed the minimum depth of river Yamuna from Jagatpur in Delhi to the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers at Sangam, Prayagraj (1,089 km) which is summarized as under:

Erosion and deposition of silt is a natural process in alluvial rivers. Rivers pickup, carry and drop silt load as per their regime conditions i.e. discharge in the river slope, morphology, nature of silt etc. The issue of desilting of rivers has been considered by Government since long and in this context a multi-disciplinary Committee headed by former Chairman, Central Water Commission in 2002 (Mittal Committee) had studied the siltation pattern in few rivers in India. The Committee has opined that large scale desilting of rivers, in general, is not feasible technically due to several reasons like non-sustainability, non-availability of vast land required for the disposal of dredged material etc.

Desilting of rivers in vulnerable reaches may be undertaken based on model study, if it is found techno-economical viable. Cost effective measures for removal of drainage congestion in specific reaches of rivers for channel capacity improvement and navigation purposes are formulated and implemented by concerned States/ agencies as per requirement. The Union Government renders assistance to States which is technical, advisory, catalytic and promotional in nature.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines, 2016 and Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020 for matters related to sand mining.

8-Aug-2022: Catch the Rain Campaign

Ministry of Jal Shakti launched “Catch the Rain” campaign with the tag line “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” to nudge the states and all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata, with people’s active participation. Besides creating RWHS, repairs/ improvements in RWHS is also one activities under Catch the Rain Campaign.

Thereafter, Ministry of Jal Shakti had taken up “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) in 2021 with the theme “Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls” in all the districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country from 22nd March, 2021 to 30 November, 2021. Maintaining the continuity, this year also, the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA:CTR) - 2022 has been taken up in all districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country with the theme “Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls” from 29 March, 2022 to 30 November, 2022 - the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country. The focused interventions of the campaign are - (i) rainwater harvesting & water conservation (ii) enumerating, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water conservation (iii) Setting up Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts (iv) intensive afforestation and (v) awareness generation.

Allocation and utilization of funds under Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain (JSA:CTR) Campaign is through inter-sectoral convergence of various development programmes/ schemes of Central and State Governments. No separate funds have been allocated/ earmarked for JSA:CTR campaign. However, under the campaign, onetime financial assistance of upto Rs. 2.00 lakh is released to each district in two installments of Rs. 1.00 lakh each for GIS mapping of water bodies and preparation of scientific plans. So far, National Water Mission has released Rs. 4.94 crore to various states/ districts of the country, out of which the first installment of Rs 1.00 lakh each has been released to 45 districts of Madhya Pradesh.

As per the information available on the JSA:CTR Portal (jsactr.mowr.gov.in), during the period from 29.3.2022 to 03.08.2022, Rs 645.04 crore have been utilized from the funds under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme alone in the state of Madhya Pradesh under the campaign.

7-Apr-2022: Funds for Catch the Rain Programme

Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA:CTR) campaign involves inter-sectoral convergence of all development programmes of the Central as well as State Government. Funds under different schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Repair, Renovation & Restoration, Watershed Development Component, Per Drop More Crop under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) etc. are leveraged for the implementation of JSA:CTR while working towards a greater vision of water conservation. State Governments have also been requested to utilise their own resources and also to carry out works through locally mobilised funds.

However, a financial grant of Rs. 2.00 lakh is allocated by Ministry of Jal Shakti to every district to meet part of the expenditure in Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of water bodies and preparation of scientific plans. Initially, Rs. 1.00 lakh is given and remaining Rs. 1.00 lakh is given based on the performance and quality of work done in every district. As on 04.04.2022, Rs. 450.00 lakh have been released as 1st installment to 450 districts.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” JSA:CTR was implemented in all districts (Urban and Rural) of the country with five focused interventions- (1) rainwater harvesting & water conservation (2) enumerating, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water conservation (3) Setting up Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts (4) intensive afforestation and (5) awareness generation.

Water being a state subject the projects are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the State Governments as per their own resources and priorities. Government of India supplements the efforts of the States through technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes. During the implementation of JSA:CTR, State Governments have been advised from time to time to work on intensive rain water harvesting & water conservation which inter-alia include maintenance of existing rain water harvesting structures, renovation of traditional water bodies, removal of encroachments of tanks/ lakes & in their catchment areas and to prepare well in advance for implementation of the focused interventions of the campaign. 

2-Aug-2021: Constructing Rain Water Harvesting Structure

Central Government does not provide any financial support to an individual for construction of rain water harvesting structure at their residence.

Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up a nationwide campaign “Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”  for creating appropriate rainwater harvesting structures  in urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country, with people's active participation, during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods.  The campaign, primarily focusing on saving and conserving rainwater, was launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 22 March, 2021, the world water day. Creation of  new and maintenance of old Rainwater harvesting structures; revival of traditional rainwater harvesting structures like stepwells etc.; enumeration, geo-tagging and making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific water conservation plans; setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras and intensive afforestation are part of the campaign.

Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared  in consultation with States/UTs  indicating various structures for the different terrain conditions of the country.  The Master Plan envisages construction of about 1.42 crore Rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the Country including areas of potable water problem, to harness 185 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM) of monsoon rainfall.

2-Aug-2021: Nationwide Programme/ Scheme for Water Conservation

Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up a nationwide campaign “Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”  for creating appropriate rainwater harvesting structures  in urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country, with people's active participation, during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods.  The campaign, primarily focusing on saving and conserving rainwater, was launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 22 March, 2021, the world water day. Creation of  new and maintenance of old Rainwater harvesting structures; revival of traditional rainwater harvesting structures like stepwells etc.; enumeration, geo-tagging and making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific water conservation plans; setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras and intensive afforestation are part of the campaign.  

Government of India has been implementing various schemes and programmes like  Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal); Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee  Yojana (PMKSY); Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS); Watershed Development Management; Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transforming (AMRUT); Unified Building Bye Laws (UBBL); Model Building Bye Laws (MBBL), 2016; Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation & Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 and  National Water Policy 2012 for addressing different aspects of water conservation.  

Different methods of water conservation are applicable for urban and rural areas depending upon the primary demand and terrain. In urban areas, creation of roof top rainwater harvesting structures, reuse of treated wastewater etc. is focused upon to minimize dependence on groundwater.  In rural areas, watershed development activities like creation and renovation of water bodies, check dams,  farm ponds, desilting of tanks etc. and improving water use efficiency in agriculture by crop diversification & using efficient irrigation methods are primarily undertaken for water conservation.

Rainwater harvesting and conservation along with decentralised storage of water is helpful in mitigating the floods.  Rapid urbanisation has led to increase in impervious surface areas causing reduction in percolation of rainwater into the ground.  This results in overflow of storm drains causing flooding, water logging and damage to life and property. Decentralised harvesting of rainwater helps in managing excess rainwater.  Recharging the groundwater with the water harvested/conserved can help in increasing the groundwater table which may prevent reoccurrence of drought.

22-Jul-2021: Catch the Rain Project

After the successful implementation of Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 2019, Ministry of Jal Shakti planned to take up the Jal Shakti Abhiyan-II (JSA-II), covering all blocks of all districts of the country but could not be taken up due to Covid-19 pandemic imposed restrictions. However, to keep its continuity, Ministry of Jal Shakti launched a campaign “Catch the Rain” with the tag line “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” to nudge the states and all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata, with people’s active participation.

This year, Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) with the theme “Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls” to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country during 22nd March 2021 to 30th November 2021 - the pre-monsoon and monsoon period. The “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain” campaign was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22 March 2021, the World Water Day. This is taken up as a continuation of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan campaign of 2019 which covered 1592 blocks out of the 2836 blocks in 256 water stressed districts in the country.

Creation of new and maintenance of old Rainwater harvesting structures; revival of traditional rainwater harvesting structures like stepwells etc.; enumeration, geo-tagging, making inventory of water bodies, reuse and recharge of bore wells; watershed development, intensive afforestation preparation of scientific water conservation plans and setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras are part of the campaign.

Ministry of Jal Shakti has allocated an amount upto Rs. 2.00 lakh as incentive based financial grant to each district including that of Tamil Nadu for GIS mapping and preparation of district water conservation scientific plan under JSA: CTR. Besides, funds are released to the State Governments under respective schemes of the concerned line Ministries.

22-Mar-2021: PM launches ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign on the occasion of World Water Day

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign on World Water Day i.e. today via video conferencing. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project, the first project of the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers, in the presence of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also interacted with sarpanches and ward panches in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said on International Water Day, a major step has also been taken for the Ken-Betwa Link Canal along with the introduction of the Catch The Rain campaign. He added this agreement is important to realize Atal ji's dream in the interest of millions of families of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He said rapid development is not possible without water security and effective water management. He added that the vision of India's development and India's self-reliance, is dependent on our water sources and our Water Connectivity.

The Prime Minister noted that the challenge of the water crisis is increasing equally with India’s development. He said it is the responsibility of the present generation of the country to fulfill its responsibility for the generations to come. He asserted that the government has made water governance a priority in its policies and decisions. In the last 6 years, many steps have been taken in this direction. He talked about Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna, water campaign to every farm - Har Khet ko Paani, 'Per Drop More Crop' campaign and Namami Gange Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission or Atal Bhujal Yojana. Work is being undertaken rapidly on all these schemes, he said.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the better India manages rainwater, the lesser the country's dependence on groundwater. Therefore, success of campaigns like 'Catch the Rain' is very important. He noted that both urban and rural areas have been included in the Jal Shakti Abhiyan. He called upon to step up water conservation efforts in the days leading upto Monsoon. Emphasizing the importance of sarpanches and DMs/DCs, The Prime Minister said that the ‘Jal Shapath’ which is being organized all over the country should become everybody’s pledge and second nature. He said when our nature changes with respect to water, nature will also support us.

The Prime Minister noted that apart from rain water harvesting, the management of river water in our country has also been discussed for decades. To save the country from a water crisis, it is now necessary to work rapidly in this direction. He said the Ken-Betwa Link Project is also part of this vision. He lauded both the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for making this project a reality.

The Prime Minister said just 1.5 years ago, just 3.5 crore out of 19 crore rural families in our country, got piped drinking water. He expressed happiness that after the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, about 4 crore new families have piped drinking water connections in such a short time. He noted that public participation and local governance model are at the core of the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The Prime Minister remarked that for the first time after independence, a government is working so seriously with regard to water testing. He pointed out that rural sisters and daughters have been made stakeholders in this campaign of water testing. He said during the Corona period itself, about 4.5 lakh women were trained for water testing. Every village is getting at least 5 trained women for water testing. Better results are a certainty with increased participation of women in water governance, the Prime Minister concluded.

18-Mar-2021: Catch the rain campaign

Ministry of Jal Shakti is taking up a nation-wide campaign “Jal Shakti Abhiyan : Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) focusing on saving and conserving rainwater with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” from 22 March 2021 to 30 November, 2021 in the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods of 2021, covering both urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country.

National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti launched a campaign “Catch the Rain” with the tag line “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” in 2020 to nudge the states and all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata, with people’s active participation.

As a preparatory step for the "Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain" campaign in 2021, a massive awareness drive was launched on 21st December 2020 in collaboration with the "Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan" (NYKS) involving Youth Clubs in 623 districts across the country including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Government is implementing a number of schemes for rainwater harvesting which include Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme etc. Trainings, workshops, painting competitions, awards, seminars, water talks, webinars etc. are also held for awareness generation and for effective implementation of schemes and programmes on water conservation and rainwater harvesting.

Central Ground Water Board is implementing Aquifer Rejuvenation Project through Artificial Recharge in selected over-exploited blocks in the country under Aspirational District Programme. As a part of this Scheme, check dams, percolation tanks, sub surface barriers, recharge shafts and piezometers have been constructed in Pulivendula block in Andhra Pradesh and Bachennapet in Telangana.