Lok Sabha Question No. 2843 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-05
Subject: Assistance for Conservation of Water  Resources
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Supriya Sadanand Sule

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2843

ANSWERED ON 05.08 .2021

## ASSISTANCE FOR CONSE RVATION OF WATER RES OURCES

## 2843.      SHRIMATI SUPRIYASULE

## Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state

(a) whether the Government provides technical and financial assistance for augmentation, c and efficient management of water resources, if so, the details thereof along with the det of various schemes implemented so far;

(b) whether the Government has assessed the availability of water resources for agriculture including Maharashtra and if so, the details and outcome thereof; and

(c)  the  other  steps  taken  by  the  Govern ment  to  improve  the  access  to  irrigation  and  mitigate  r farmers by providing assured irrigation for agriculture?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES ( SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL )

(a) Water resources projects are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the State Gover per their own resources and priorities. Government of India provides technical and financial terms with the existing schemes being implemented b y it.Major schemes/projects/programs of Ministry of Jal Shakti for augmentation, conservation and water resources management are as under: -

- i . Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) for sustainable management of groundwater resources wi community  participation in  selected  areas  of  81  districts,  222  blocks  and  8774  water Gram Panchayats of 7 States.
- ii . Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) The major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivab assured irrigation, improve on - farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhanc adoption  of  precision - irri gation  and  other  water  saving  technologies (More  crop  per  drop) , enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices b the  feasibility  of  reusing  treated  municipal  waste  water  for  peri - urban  agriculture  and  attrac t greater  private  investment  in  precision  irrigation  system. Accelerated  Irrigation  Benefit Programme (AIBP), Command Area Development & Water Management (CADWM), Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair Renovation and Restoration (RRR), Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP) and  HKKP -Ground  Water  Management  (GW)  components  of  PMKSY  are  implemented  by Ministry of Jal Shakti.

## iii . Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)

Objective of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) is to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams along with dam safety strengthening with system wide management approach.

## iv . National Project on Aquifer Management (NAQUIM)

National Aquifer Mapping and Management program (NAQUIM) is being implemented by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and initiated as a part of the Ground Water Manage and Regulation Scheme to delineate and characterize the aquifers to develop plans water management.

## v. Special Package:

Special P ackage for completion of Irrigation Projects is to address agrarian distress Marathwada and other chronically drought prone areas of Rest of Maharashtra has been during 2018 - 19. Under the Special Package, 8 MMI projects and 83 SMI pro jects are planned to be completed in phases up to 2022 - 23.

## vi . Jal Shakti Abhiyan -Catch the Rain campaign

Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up a nationwide campaign ' Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain' (JSA:CTR) with  the  theme ' Catch  the  rain,  where  it  fal ls,  when  it  falls ' for  creating appropriate  rainwater  harvesting  structures in ban  and  rural  areas  of  all  the  districts country, with people's active participation, during the pre - monsoon and monsoon periods. The campaign,primarily  focusing  on saving  and  conserving  rainwater,  was  launched  by  Hon'b Prime Minister on 22 March, 2021, the world water day. Creation of new and maintenance of old Rainwater  harvesting  structures;  revival  of  traditional  rainwater  harvesting  st stepwells etc; enumeration, geo - tagging and making inventory of all water bodies; preparati scientific water conservation plans; setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras and intensive are part of the campaign.

- vii. Central Ground Water Board provides technical assistance to state governments from tim on ground water augmentation, conservation and sustainable ground water management.

Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP) and Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) of PMKSY are implemented by Ministry  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  and Water- shed  Development  Component  of PMKSY is implemented by Department of Land Resources.

Apart from these schemes/projects/programs of Ministry of Jal Shakti, other Central Departmen Ministries are also doing water resources management as part of their schemes like Mahatma Gandhi  National  Rural  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  a Urban Transformation (AMRUT) , Rash triya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) etc .

inst

(b) The average annual water resource of the 22 basins of the country has been assessed Billion Cubic Meters (BCM), as per the study report 'Reassessment of Water Availability in India usi ng Space Inputs' released by Ministry of Jal Shakti. Due to geological and other factors, the utilizable water available is limited to 1122 BCM per annum, comprising of 690 BCM of surface water and 432 ground water. Out of this, the water potential utilized is around 699 BCM, comprising of 450 BCM of surface  water  and  249  BCM  of  groundwater. 85- 90%  of  the  total  usage  of  water  in  the  country estimated to be in agriculture sector. As per the 2020 assessment of Central Ground Water Board an States ,  total  Annual  Ground  Water  Recharge  is  436  Billion  Cubic  Meter  (BCM)  and  the  A Extractable Ground Water Resource is 398 BCM. Out of total annual ground water recharge of 436. BCM and annual extractable ground water resource of 397.62 BCM, Maharash tra's contribution is 32.01 BCM and 30.25 BCM respectively.

(c) Apart  from  above  mentioned  schemes/projects/programs  related  to  improving  irrigation Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)  through  various  research  institutes  and  other addressing  issues  related  to  judicious  use  of  water  ensuring  higher  crop  productivity  i Among other things, ICAR has developed cost effective, smart and precision technologies fo and  farming  practices,  optimum  irrigation  schedulin g  including  micro - irrigation,  development  of  land drainage and reclamation of saline soils to enhance irrigation water efficiency and water Indian agriculture. Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC), Dehradun has stand zed several location specific bio - engineering water conservation measures for facilitating infiltratio in situ moisture  conservation  and ex- situ storage  of  run - off  water  to  provide  supplementary  irrigation minimize the risk of farming. The Council also imparts trainings and organizes frontline demonstr on  these  aspects  and  provide  technical  backup  support  to  various  development  schemes  as required.

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