Lok Sabha Question No. 4796 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-31
Subject: Mihir Shah Committee Report
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, S. Muniswamy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4796

ANSWERED ON 31.03.2022

## MIHIR SHAH COMMITTEE REPORT

## 4796.  SHRI ANNASAHEB SHANKAR JOLLE

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to consider/examine the Mihir Shah Committee report of 2016 on India's water reforms and if so, the details thereof;

- (b) the measures taken by the Government to overcome the uneven distribution of water in the country;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government for the probable unmet water demand and the expected gap of about 570 billion cubic meters of water mainly in the agricultural sector by 2030; and

(d)  whether  there  is  a  paradigm  shift  after  the  formation  of  Jal  Shakti  Ministry  and  the  improvised  water policies and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

(a) Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has considered/examined the Dr. Mihir Shah Committee report of 2016. Based on the report submitted by Dr. Mihir Shah Committee, various Committees, including that of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad and a high level group comprising  Chairman,  Central  Water  Commission  (CWC)  and  Chairman,  Central  Ground  Water  Board (CGWB), have been constituted.

(b)  &  (c) Water  being  a  State  subject,  steps  for  augmentation,  conservation  and  efficient  management  of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts  of  the  State  Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

As  per  the  National  Commission  on  Integrated  Water  Resources  Development  (NCIWRD)  Report-1999, water requirement of the country for high demand scenario for the year 2050 is 1,180 BCM.

As per the study titled 'Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs, 2019', the average annual water resources availability in the country is assessed as 1,999.20 BCM. It is estimated that owing to topographic,  hydrological  and  other  constraints,  the  utilizable  water  is  1,126  BCM  which  comprises  690 BCM of surface water and 436 BCM of replenishable ground water.

The Government of India formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) of Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) for transferring water from surplus basins to deficit basins/areas in 1980. National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component and 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports/ Detailed Project Reports under Inter-linking of Rivers Project. However, river interlinking projects are largely dependent on consensus on water sharing between participating States.

Government  of  India,  in  partnership  with  States,  is  implementing  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  (JJM)  to  make provision of potable tap water supply to every rural household of the country at the service level of 55 litre per capita per day by 2024.

SHRI S. MUNISWAMY

Government of India has launched AMRUT 2.0 on 1st October, 2021 for a period of 5 years (FY 2021- 22 to 2025-26), with the objective of providing universal coverage of water supply through functional household tap  connections  in  all  statutory  towns  in  the  country.  AMRUT  2.0  focuses  on  making  cities  water  secure through recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation.

Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  launched  the  'Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan:  Catch  the  Rain'  (JSA:CTR)  with  the  theme 'Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls' on 22 nd March 2021, the World Water Day, to cover all the blocks  of  all  districts  (rural  as  well  as  urban  areas)  across  the  country  during  22 nd March,  2021  to  30 th November, 2021 -the pre-monsoon and monsoon  period. JSA:CTR  campaign  had five focused interventions-  (1)  rainwater  harvesting  &  water  conservation  (2)  enumerating,  geo-tagging  &  making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water conservation (3) setting up Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts (4) intensive afforestation and (5) awareness generation. Jal Shakti Abhiyan for 2022 has been launched by Hon'ble President of India on 29th March, 2022.

During 2016-17, ninety-nine (99) on-going major/medium irrigation projects in the country having balance estimated cost of Rs.77,595 crore under PMKSY-Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) have been prioritised, in consultation with States, for completion in phases.

The Command Area Development & Water Management (CADWM) Programme has been brought under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) - Har Khet Ko Pani from 2015-16 onwards. The main objective  of  taking  up  CAD  works  is  to  enhance  utilization  of  irrigation  potential  created,  and  improve agriculture production on a sustainable basis through Participatory Irrigation Management  (PIM). Implementation of PMKSY-AIBP and CAD&WM during 2021-26 has been approved by the Government of India with the central assistance of Rs. 23,918 crore.

Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  is  implementing  "Per  Drop  More  Crop"  component  of Pradhan Mantri Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY) which is operational from 2015-16 in the  India. The PMKSY-  "Per  Drop  More  Crop"  mainly  focuses  on  water  use  efficiency  at  farm  level  through  micro irrigation (drip and sprinkler irrigation system).

'Sahi Fasal' campaign was launched by National Water Mission (NWM) on 14.11.2019 to nudge farmers in the water stressed areas to grow crops which use water very efficiently, are economically remunerative, are healthy  and  nutritious,  suited  to  the  agro-climatic-hydro  characteristics  of  the  area,  and  are  environment friendly.

Government of India is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana, a central sector scheme, in 8,774 gram panchayats of 81 districts of seven States namely Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The focus of the scheme is on community participation and demand side intervention for sustainable ground water management in identified water stressed areas.

National  Aquifer  Mapping  and  Management  program  (NAQUIM)  is  being  implemented  by  the  Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) as part of Ground Water Management and Regulation (GWM&R) scheme, a central sector scheme. NAQUIM  envisages  mapping  of  aquifers  (water bearing formations), their characterization  and  development  of  Aquifer  Management  Plans  to  facilitate  sustainable  management  of groundwater resources in the country. NAQUIM  outputs  are  shared  with States/UTs for suitable interventions.

(d) The  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  has  been  formed  by  the  Government  of  India  by  integrating  the  erstwhile Ministry  of  Water  Resources  River  Development  and  Ganga  Rejuvenation  and  the  Ministry  of  Drinking Water and Sanitation, with an aim to integrate water resources management under one umbrella so that the issues relating to water are dealt with in a holistic manner.