Lok Sabha Question No. 1176 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-09
Subject: Water Plan
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: D.K. Suresh, Nalin Kumar Kateel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER & SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1176 ANSWERED ON 09/02/2023

## Water Plan

## 1176.  SHRI D.K. SURESH: SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether the Government is formulating water plans keeping in mind the water availability and demand;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has taken note of the factors impact on urban water access; and
- (d) if so, the steps being taken by the Government to ensure water security to all the households?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) to (d) The Government of India has initiated number of steps and launched various schemes/ programmes for making availability of  water,  its  conservation  and  distribution.  The  details  of some of the major schemes/ programmes are as under:

(i)  National  Water  Mission  has  been  launched  with  the  objective  of  conservation  of  water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management.

Under this mission, a campaign namely "Sahi Fasal" has also been initiated to nudge farmers to  favour agricultural crops which consume less water and to use water more efficiently in agriculture, as a part of demand side management.

Also,  to  promote  dialogue  and  information  sharing  among  participants  on  variety  of  water related topics, a monthly seminar series  - 'Water Talk' has been initiated with intended to create awareness, build capacities of stakeholders and to encourage people to become active participants in the conservation and saving of water.

(ii)  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  a  Central  Sector  Scheme,  with  focus  on  community  participation, demand side interventions and convergence of ongoing schemes for sustainable ground water management is  being  implemented  from  1  April  2020  in  seven  States  -  Gujarat,  Haryana, Karnataka, Madya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

(iii)  Har  Khet  Ko  Pani  (HKKP),  a  component  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchai  Yojana (PMKSY), Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies Scheme was launched which aims to revive irrigation potential by improvement and restoration of water bodies by enhancing  the  tank  storage  capacity,  along  with  other  multiple  objectives  such  as  ground water recharge, increased availability of drinking water, improvement of catchment of tank commands etc.

(iv) The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched by  the  Government  of  India  on  June  25,  2015  in  selected  500  cities  and  towns  across  the country  for  a  period  of  5  years  i.e.  from  FY  2015-2016  to  FY  2019-2020,  which  has  been extended for completing the grounded projects. The Mission focuses on the development of basic  urban  infrastructure  in  the  Mission  cities  in  the  sectors  of  water  supply,  sewerage  & septage management, storm water drainage, green spaces & parks and non-motorized urban transport.

(v) Jal  Jeevan  Mission-Har  Ghar  Jal  is  being  implemented  by  Government  of  India,  in partnership  with  States  since  August,  2019,  which  aims  at  providing  potable  water  in adequate quantity (55 litres per capita per day) of prescribed quality (BIS:10500) on regular and long-term basis to every rural household through tap water connection, by 2024.

At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission in August 2019, 3.23 Crore (17%) rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, as reported by States/UTs as on  06.02.2023,  around  7.87  Crore  rural  households  have  been  provided  with  tap  water connections in last three and half years under JJM. Thus, as on 06.02.2023, out of 19.36 Crore rural households in the country, around 11.10 Crore (57%) households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.

(vi)  Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan-I  (JSA-I)  was  launched  in  2019  in  256  water  stressed  districts  to promote  water  conservation  and  water  resource  management  by  focusing  on  accelerated implementation of five target interventions, viz., water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation  of  traditional  and  other  water  bodies/  tanks,  reuse  and  recharge  of  bore  wells, watershed development and intensive afforestation.

In  2021,  'Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan:  Catch  the  Rain'  (JSA:CTR)  was  initiated  with  the  theme 'Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls' to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well  as  urban  areas)  across  the  country.  The  focused  interventions  for  JSA  includes  water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, reuse and recharge of borewells, watershed development and intensive afforestation.

Some  other  steps  taken  by  the  Central  Government  to  control  ground  water  depletion  and promote rain water harvesting/conservation are available at the URL:

http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps\_to\_control\_water\_depletion\_Feb2021.pdf

Furthermore, 15 th Finance Commission in its report for 2021-22 to 2025-26, has earmarked 60 percent of the tied grants for water and sanitation related activities of which 50 percent is water component to be utilised by Rural Local Bodies/ Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI).

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