Lok Sabha Question No. 352 (STARRED), answered on 2021-03-19
Subject: Conservation of Lakes
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Chirag Paswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*352

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2021

## Conservation of Lakes

## *352.  SHRI CHIRAG KUMAR PASWAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether number of lakes have declined substantially across the country during the last few years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor, State/UT-wise including Bihar;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  launched  any  schemes  to  save/conserve/revive  such  lakes across the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Union Government has received any proposals from various State Governments to protect natural lakes located in their respective States; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details thereof along with the funds allocated by the Union Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## Statement  referred  to  in  reply  to  parts  (a)  to  (e)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred Question  No.  *352  to  be  answered  on  Friday,  the  19 th March,  2021  on 'Conservation of Lakes' raised by Shri Chirag Kumar Paswan.

(a) &  (b)  Rapid  urbanization,  developmental  activities  and  anthropogenic  pressures  do  stress water  bodies.Various  departments  in  the  Central  Government  and  the  State  Governments  are engaged in restoration,  conservation  and  preservation  of  lakes  and  wetlands . Works related to water resources development & management are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the  State  Governments  themselves  as  per  their  own  resources  and  priorities.  The  State Government of Bihar has informed that there is no decline in their number of lakes.

(c) to  (e)  Yes,  Sir.  The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  &  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC)  is currently implementing a centrally sponsored scheme namely, National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) for conservation and management of identified wetlands (includes lakes)  in  the  country  on  cost  sharing  basis  between  Central  Government  and  respective  State Governments. The scheme covers various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of  wastewater,  shoreline  protection,  lake  front  development,  in-situ  cleaning  i.e.  desilting  & deweeding, storm water management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment, lake beautification, survey & demarcation, biofencing, fisheries development, weed control, biodiversity conservation, education and awareness creation, community participation, etc.

Under the NPCA scheme, the central assistance is based on the proposals received from the State Governments, conformity with the guidelines and budget availability. Accordingly, so far,  MoEF&CC  has  sanctioned  projects  for  conservation  of  157  wetlands  in  the  country  and released an amount of about Rs. 1039.0 crore as central share.

Further, in order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, the Ministry of Jal Shakti provides technical and financial assistance to State Governments to encourage sustainable development  and  efficient  management  of  water  resources  through  various  schemes  and programmes such as Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies Schemes etc. under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) - Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP).

The  RRR  of  Water  Bodies  scheme  mainly  aims  at  expanding  cultivable  area  under assured irrigation  by  improvement and restoration of water bodies thereby increasing the tank storage capacity and revival of lost irrigation potential along with other objectives like improving water use efficiency, ground water recharge, increased availability of drinking water, improvement of catchment of tank commands etc. water bodies included under the scheme are encroachment free. It covers rural water bodies having minimum water spread area of 5.0 hectare and urban water bodies having water spread area from 2.0 hectare to 10.0 hectare.

Under the RRR of Water Bodies scheme, since 12 th plan onwards, 2228 water bodies are covered with an estimated cost of Rs. 1914.86 crore. Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 433.9 crore has been released to states up to March, 2020. Further, 1465 water bodies have been reported to be-completed up to March, 2020. Target irrigation potential restoration of these schemes is 1.89 L  Ha  and  out  of  this,  1.319  L  Ha  is  reported  to  be  restored  till  March,  2020.  In  the  current financial year, Rs. 35.79 crore has been released to RRR of water Bodies schemes till date.

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