Community participation in water related programmes

Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments with the technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes of Central Government.

Under the erstwhile National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), 2017, one of the objectives was to ‘enable all households to have access to and use safe & adequate drinking water within premises to the extent possible’ with a target of 2030, coinciding with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG 6). The erstwhile NRDWP has been subsumed under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) which aims to ensure drinking water to every household by 2024  well before the SDG goal of 2030.

JJM is a decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed programme and through bottom-up planning approach, it aims to facilitate implementation of the 73rd Amendment wherein Gram Panchayats and/ or its sub-committees are responsible to plan, implement, manage, operate & maintain in-village water supply infrastructure. This is also in line with SDG target of support & strengthen participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA)-I was launched in 1592 blocks out of 2836 blocks in 256 water stressed districts of the country in two phases from 1st  July  to 30th September and from 1st October to 30th November 2019 as a time bound campaign intended to improve water availability in these blocks. Officers, groundwater experts and scientists from the Government of India have worked with State and District officials in these water-stressed districts of the country to promote water conservation and water resource management. With this campaign, huge awareness has been generated and various stakeholders, viz. government department, agencies, NGOs, officials, Panchayats, individuals, etc. have started taking steps for water conservation.

Ministry of Jal Shakti has also taken various steps for water conservation with active people’s participation involving village panchayats, urban local bodies, RWAs, NGOs and other stakeholders through Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), Jal Shakti Abhiyan-I, National Water Policy, National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) Programme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMYKS), Rainfed Area Development Programme (RADP), National Perspective Plan, Catch the Rain and Sahi Fasal Campaigns, etc. Trainings, workshops, painting competitions, awards, seminars, water talks, webinars etc. are also held for effective implementation of Schemes and Programmes.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri. Rattan Lal Kataria in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.