Assistance for Conservation of Water Resources

Water resources projects are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the State Governments as per their own resources and priorities. Government of India provides technical and financial assistance in terms with the existing schemes being implemented by it.   Major schemes/projects/programs of Ministry of Jal Shakti for augmentation, conservation and water resources management are as under:-

1. Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) for sustainable management of groundwater resources with community participation in selected areas of 81 districts, 222 blocks and 8774 water stressed Gram Panchayats of 7 States.
2. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) – The major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies (More crop per drop), enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste water for peri-urban agriculture and attract greater private investment in precision irrigation system.    Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), Command Area Development & Water Management (CADWM),  Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair Renovation and Restoration (RRR), Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP) and HKKP–Ground Water Management (GW) components of PMKSY are implemented by Ministry of Jal Shakti.

• Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)

Objective of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) is to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams along with dam safety institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.

1. National Project on Aquifer Management (NAQUIM)

National Aquifer Mapping and Management program (NAQUIM) is being implemented by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and initiated as a part of the Ground Water Management and Regulation Scheme to delineate and characterize the aquifers to develop plans for ground water management.

1. Special Package:

Special Package for completion of Irrigation Projects is to address agrarian distress in Vidarbha, Marathwada and other chronically drought prone areas of Rest of Maharashtra has been approved during 2018-19. Under the Special Package, 8 MMI projects and 83 SMI projects are planned to be completed in phases up to 2022-23.

1. Jal Shakti Abhiyan – Catch the Rain campaign

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.

vii.     Central Ground Water Board provides technical assistance to state governments from time to time on ground water augmentation, conservation and sustainable ground water management.

Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP) and Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) of PMKSY are implemented by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and  Water-shed Development Component of PMKSY is implemented by Department of Land Resources.

Apart from these schemes/projects/programs of  Ministry of Jal Shakti, other Central Department/ Ministries are also doing water resources management as part of their  schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) , Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) etc.

The average annual water resource of the 22 basins of the country has been assessed as 1999.20 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM), as per the study report ‘Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs’ released by Ministry of Jal Shakti. Due to geological and other factors, the utilizable water available is limited to 1122 BCM per annum, comprising of 690 BCM of surface water and 432 BCM of ground water. Out of this, the water potential utilized is around 699 BCM, comprising of 450 BCM of surface water and 249 BCM of groundwater.  85-90% of the total usage of water in the country is estimated to be in agriculture sector.  As per the 2020 assessment of Central Ground Water Board and States, total Annual Ground Water Recharge is 436 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 398 BCM.  Out of total annual ground water recharge of 436.15 BCM and annual extractable ground water resource of 397.62 BCM, Maharashtra’s contribution is 32.01 BCM and 30.25 BCM respectively.

Apart from above mentioned schemes/projects/programs related to improving irrigation, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through various research institutes and other centres is addressing issues related to judicious use of water ensuring higher crop productivity in the country. Among other things, ICAR has developed cost effective, smart and precision technologies for irrigation and farming practices, optimum irrigation scheduling including micro-irrigation, development of land drainage and reclamation of saline soils to enhance irrigation water efficiency and water productivity in Indian agriculture.  Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC), Dehradun has standardized several location specific bio-engineering water conservation measures for facilitating infiltration and in-situ moisture conservation and ex-situ storage of run-off water to provide supplementary irrigation to minimize the risk of farming.  The Council also imparts trainings and organizes frontline demonstration on these aspects and provide technical backup support to various development schemes as and when required.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.