Jal Shakti Abhiyan - II

• 16 Jun 2021

Why in News

The Minister of Jal Shakti has urged all MPs to support the ongoing “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain” campaign in their respective constituencies and states.

• Such interventions would ensure water source sustainability in rural areas and would strengthen the ongoing Jal Jeevan Mission being implemented by the Ministry.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • The Abhiyan with the theme- “Catch the Rain where it falls, when it falls’ was launched on the occasion of world water day (22^nd March 2021).
  • It covers all rural and urban areas of all districts of the country.
    
    • Jal Shakti Abhiyan-I of 2019, covered only 1592 water stressed blocks out of 2836 blocks in 256 districts of the country.
  • National Water Mission, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, is the nodal agency for its implementation.
  • A total of almost Rs. 14,000 Cr worth of water conservation related work is completed/ongoing under the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) of Dept of Rural Development.
• Aim:
  
  • The campaign aims at tapping rainwater by constructing artificial recharge structures, revitalizing existing ponds and water bodies, creating new water bodies, provisioning check dams, rejuvenating wetlands and rivers before the onset of monsoon.
  • It is also planned to create a data-base of all water bodies in the country by geo tagging them and using this data to create scientific and data-based district level water conservation plans.
• Other Initiatives to Conserve Water:
  
  • Jal Jeevan Mission:
    
    • An initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access to piped water for every household in rural India.
    • Government of India has restructured and subsumed the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) into Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household i.e., Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ).
  • Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban):
    
    • In the Budget 2021-22, Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) was announced under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry to provide universal coverage of water supply to all households through functional taps in all statutory towns in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal- 6 (clean water and sanitation).
  • National Water Mission:
    
    • It was launched with the objective of conservation of water, minimising wastage and ensuring more equitable distribution both across and within states through integrated water resources development and management.
  • NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index:
    
    • With the objective of achieving effective utilization of water, NITI Aayog has developed the Composite Water Management Index.
  • Atal Bhujal Yojana:
    
    • It is a central sector scheme worth Rs. 6,000 crore for sustainable management of groundwater with community participation.
    • It envisages people's participation through the formation of ‘Water User Associations’, water budgeting, preparation and implementation of Gram-panchayat-wise water security plans, etc.

Source: PIB