Phase 2 of Jal Shakti Abhiyan to commence from April: Govt
NEW DELHI: The Union government will launch from April 2021 “Jal Shakti Abhiyan 2”, a programme to manage and conserve rainwater and recharge the aquifers in the country, part of the Centre’s target to provide tapped drinking water to every household by 2024, Union minister of state for Jal Shakti Ratan Lal Kataria said on Tuesday.
The Jal Shakti Abhiyan is the ministry’s flagship water-conservation campaign. The next leg of the programme, dubbed “catch the rain where it falls, when it falls”, will be rolled out across the country’s 734 districts, covering over 600,000 villages, the minister said, adding that the Prime Minister’s Office had cleared the project.
During the campaign, geotagging of all water bodies throughout the nation will be carried out, which shall form the basis for assessment of the rejuvenation efforts for water bodies across the country, an official said on condition of anonymity.
According to data from the state-run policy think tank, NITI Aayog, nearly 600 million Indians face “high to extreme water stress” and the country’s water demand is likely to double by 2030, potentially costing a 6% loss in gross domestic product by 2050.
Under the scheme, the government focuses on rainwater harvesting and water conservation, including initiatives such as renovation of traditional water
bodies and tanks, reuse of water and recharge structures, watershed development and afforestation in 256 districts.
“In the first phase, interventions were made in 10,104,338 water conservation and rainwater harvesting projects, 7,536,381 renovation of traditional and other water bodies, 7,485,025 reuse and recharge structures and 9,696,381 watershed development,” Kataria said, quoting figures from his ministry.
India sustains 18% of the world’s population and 15% of global livestock with just about 4% of global fresh water resources. India’s most water-stressed blocks are in Tamil Nadu (541), followed by Rajasthan (218), Uttar Pradesh (139) and Telangana (137).
On average, the country receives 1,170mm of rainfall, most of it during the summer monsoon months, but only 10-20% of that is currently tapped. Teams of central government officials shall visit each district to sensitise and motivate the public to undertake water harvesting and conservation measures. Nearly 174,000 villagebased youth clubs under Nehru Yuva Kendra shall be mobilised for the programme, for which financial sums shall be provided at district level. During the first phase, too, nearly 400 top government officials had travelled across the country to boost efforts to conserve water.
The Jal Shakti ministry was formed in 2019 by integrating other existing ministries to ensure Har Ghar Jal by 2024.