Lok Sabha Question No. 3167 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-16
Subject: Encroachment of Water Bodies
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Bhagirath Chaudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †3167

ANSWERED ON 16.12.2021

## ENCROACHMENT OF WATER BODIES

## †3167.         SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  a  large  number  of  water  bodies  in  the  country  have  been encroached upon and diverted for use for other purposes;
- (b) if so, the details thereof especially in Rajasthan and Gujarat; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to identify and conserve such water bodies in a stipulated time frame?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

- (a) & (b)  Works related to enumeration of water bodies, their protection from encroachment, or diversion for  use  for  other  purposes,  comes  under the purview of the State Government concerned. However, from time to time, this Ministry conducts census of minor irrigation schemes in the country, which captures data regarding  water  bodies  in  rural  areas  associated  with  irrigation.  As  per  the  5 th Minor  Irrigation  Census conducted by this Ministry with reference year 2013-14, there are 5,16,303 water bodies in the rural areas of the country which are being used for minor irrigation, out of which 53,396 are not in use for various reasons such as non-availability of water, siltation, salinity, etc.

As per the above-mentioned 5 th Minor Irrigation Census, details for Rajasthan and Gujarat are as below:

|   S. No | State     |   Water bodies (with Not-in use MI schemes) | Water bodies (with In- Use MI schemes)   | Total Water bodies (with MI scheme)   |
|---------|-----------|---------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|       1 | GUJARAT   |                                         901 | 38,432                                   | 39,333                                |
|       2 | RAJASTHAN |                                         445 | 11,851                                   | 12,296                                |

- Note 1: Water bodies cover all natural or artificial units with some or no masonry work   used for storing water  for  minor  irrigation  (MI).  These  are  usually  of  various  types  known  by  different  names  like  tank, reservoir, pond.
- Note 2: In MI Census information is collected for villages/ rural areas only.
- Note 3: The above data pertains to only those water bodies where some minor irrigation scheme(s) (either inuse or not-in-use) is/are installed or those water bodies which function as surface flow schemes.
- Note 4:  Reasons for not in -use as minor irrigation schemes are non-availability of adequate power/fuel, mechanical  break-down,  less  discharge  of  water,  storage  not  filled  up  fully,  siltation  of  storage,  salinity, dried up, destroyed beyond repair, due to sinking.

(c)   Though  water  is  a  State  subject,  Government  of  India  has  taken  a  number  of  important  measures  to identify  and  conserve  such  water  bodies  in  a  stipulated  time  frame.  Key  measures  taken  recently  in  this regard are listed below:

1. Government of India is providing financial assistance to the identified schemes under Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) - Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP).

2. In 2019, Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched by the Government. This was followed in  2021, by 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain' (JSA:CTR) campaign. Focused interventions under these annual campaigns taken up by the Government of  India and the State Governments, inter-alia, include renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, enumeration, geo-tagging and making inventory of all water bodies, and removal of encroachments of tanks/ lakes, and de-silting of tanks.

3. Government has launched the first Census of Water bodies in convergence with the Sixth round of Minor Irrigation Census (reference year 2017-18), under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- 'Irrigation Census'. The objective of the Census of Water bodies is to develop a national database of all water bodies in the country.

4. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has provisions for public works  relating  to  natural  resource  management,  water  conservation  and  water  harvesting  structures  to augment and improve ground water like underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams, check dams and roof top rain water harvesting structures in public buildings.

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