Jaipur fares ‘poorly’ in Jal Shakti Abhiyan rankings
STANDING With a score of 19.52 out of 100, Jaipur is ranked 166 in a list of 253 districts in the country
JAIPUR: Jaipur has done poorly in water conservation efforts, indicates data collected under a campaign of the union government. With a score of 19.52 out of 100, Jaipur is ranked 166 in a list of 253 districts in the country covered under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, which aims at encouraging states to undertake water conservation measures.
Overall, Rajasthan has performed poorly with its 29 districts, which were part of the campaign, faring way down the national rankings. Ajmer is the state topper with a score of 30.23, but ranks 58 nationally.
The ranking of the 253 districts has been done by the Jal Shakti Ministry which launched the first phase of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan from July 1 to September 15. The ministry issued the rankings t o measur e the progress made during the first phase of the campaign.
The top five districts nationally are Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh with a score of 80.36, Sangareddy in Telangana with a score of 78.71, Banaskantha in Gujarat scoring 78.28, Gaya in Bihar at 73.61 and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu with a score of 70.39.
The ranking assessed the performance of the districts on five intervention areas, special interventions and outcome interventions
The five intervention areas were - water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse and recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.
The two special interventions were - Block and District Conservation plans and the number of Krishi Vigyan Kendra Melas
OFFICER , watershed department, on condition of anonymity
organized while the outcome intervention entailed details of five sites where work was done being uploaded on the ministry’s Block and District Conservation plan
Number of Krishi Vigyan Kendra Melas organised
Outcome intervention Number of details uploaded for five sites
There is no separate funding for the scheme and it is funded by ongoing programmes of the state and central government such as MNREGA, Swachh Bharat Mission and others.
website.
Jaipur scored 0.01 in water conservation and rainwater harvesting, 0 in renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, 0.01 in reuse and recharge structures, 0 in watershed development and 0 in intensive afforestation.
Jaipur scored 10 for Block and District Conservation plan and 1.90 on number of Krishi Vigyan Kendra Melas organised and 7.6 on number of details of five sites uploaded.
During the monsoon, there was 757 mm rainfall in Jaipur but it was only able to conserve 3% water through water harvesting. The Jaipur administration also failed to renovate traditional water structures. It has also failed to recycle water and use it. It also failed in tree plantation.
Ajmer scored 0.05 on water conservation and rainwater harvesting, 0.01 on renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, 0.14 on reuse and recharge structures, 0.02 in watershed development and 0 in intensive afforestation.
It scored 10 in Block and District Conservation plan and 10 on number of Krishi Vigyan Kendra Melas organised. It also scored 10 on number of details of five sites uploaded.
Officials in the watershed department said the lack of funds had hampered effective implementation of the scheme.
An officer on condition of anonymity said, “There is no separate funding for the scheme and it is funded by ongoing programmes of the state and central government such as MNREGA, Swachh Bharat Mission and others.”
He also said timing of the programme was not right in context of Rajasthan. July to September is our monsoon season and we could not do several construction works that were required under the scheme, he said.