UP Ranks 1st in Amrit Sarovar Construction

• 23 Jul 2025

Why in News? 

Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the state with the highest number of Amrit Sarovars in the country, having constructed and rejuvenated 16,630 ponds, three times the original target of 5,550 since the launch of the programme in 2022. 

Key Points 

• Mission Amrit Sarovar: It was launched on 24 April 2022 as part of India's "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" celebrations for the 75th year of independence. 
  • The mission aims to construct/rejuvenate at least 75 Amrit Sarovars in each district across India to overcome the water crisis in rural areas. 
  • The target for these water bodies serves as a crucial step towards ensuring water sustainability at the local level. 
  • Eight Central Ministries/Departments, including Dept. of Rural Development, Department of Land Resources, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Railway, Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways, actively contribute to the mission's execution. 
  • Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Application and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) has been engaged as Technical partner for the Mission. 
    • BISAG-N is an autonomous scientific society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 
  • Geospatial data and technology play a pivotal role in identifying and executing the construction and rejuvenation of Amrit Sarovar. 
• State-wise Ranking — Amrit Sarovar Construction (2022–2025): 

Rank	State	Number of Ponds
1	Uttar Pradesh	16,630
2	Madhya Pradesh	5,839
3	Chhattisgarh	2,902
4	Bihar	2,613
5	Haryana	2,088
6	Jharkhand	2,048
7	Punjab	1,450

Other Initiatives for Water Conservation in UP 

• Groundwater Week Celebrations: The UP government recently observed Groundwater Week (16 July- 22 July), giving fresh momentum to ongoing water conservation projects and efforts to address the state's groundwater challenges. 
• Khet Talab Yojana: Focused on the construction of farm ponds, providing up to 50% subsidy to farmers for building ponds. Since its initiation in 2017-18, the government has helped construct 37,403 farm ponds under this scheme. 
• One District-One River Scheme: Aims to revive extinct rivers by assigning a river revival project to each district. 
• Promotion of Water-Saving Irrigation Techniques: This includes encouraging the use of sprinkler and drip irrigation systems to reduce water consumption. 
• Incorporation of Groundwater Harvesting: Encouraging the integration of groundwater harvesting structures in building construction. 
• Development of Multipurpose Ponds: These ponds are being developed along riverbanks for sustainable water management. 
• Groundwater Improvement in 29 Districts: In areas where groundwater levels have remained low for the past decade, the government is focusing on the adoption of water-saving technologies, encouraging at least one-fourth of farmers in these areas to implement such practices.