Lok Sabha Question No. 648 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-25
Subject: Water Stress
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Dr. Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, Dr. Alok Kumar Suman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 648

## ANSWERED ON - 25/07/2024

## WATER STRESS

## 648. DR. PRADEEP KUMAR PANIGRAHY:

## DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  steps  taken  and  schemes  introduced  by  the  Government  to  increase  rainwater harvesting and manage water stress in the country;

(b) the status of the Jal Jeevan Mission including the number of households covered with tap water in rural areas and the funds released by the Union Government;

(c) the details of funds allocated under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM- G) during the last three years and the number of Individual Household Latrines constructed;

(d) the details of Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus villages, district-wise; and

(e)  the  present  status,  steps  taken,  projects  undertaken,  funds  approved  and  released  for the Namami Gange Programme along with the steps taken for biodiversity conservation for the rejuvenation of the Ganga River?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI. V. SOMANNA)

(a)  Water  is  a  State  subject  and  the  Central  Government  supplements  the  efforts  of  the States/UTs through technical and financial support. Water conservation through rainwater harvesting is one of the foremost priorities of the Government. Major steps taken by the Government for water conservation and rainwater harvesting to reduce water stress and address water scarcity in the country are as follows:

i.  Government  of  India  has  been  implementing  a  scheme  namely  Mahatma  Gandhi National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS)  which  inter-alia  includes water conservation and water harvesting structures.

ii.  Financial  assistance  is  given  to  various  States  under  15th  Finance  Commission  tied grants which can be inter-alia utilized for rainwater harvesting.

iii.  The  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  has  been  implementing  Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan  (JSA)  since 2019 on an annual basis. In the current year, Ministry of Jal Shakti is implementing Jal Shakti  Abhiyan:  Catch  the  Rain  (JSA:  CTR)  2024,  5 th in  the  series  of  JSAs,  in  all  the districts  (rural  as  well  as  urban)  of  the  country. JSA:  CTR  is  a  convergence  of  various Central Government schemes and funds like MGNREGS, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and  Urban  Transformation  (AMRUT),  Per  Drop  More  Crop,  Repair,  Renovation  and Restoration  Components  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchai  Yojana  (PMKSY), Compensatory  Afforestation  Fund  Management  and  Planning  Authority  (CAMPA), Finance Commission grants, State Government schemes, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds etc. One of the major interventions undertaken under the campaign includes constructions  and  repair  or  rainwater  harvesting  structures  including  rooftop  and  water harvesting structures.

iv.  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  and  Urban  Transformation  (AMRUT)  2.0  has provisions for harvesting the rainwater through storm water drains into water body (which is  not  receiving  sewage/effluent).  Through  preparation  of  'Aquifer  Management  Plan' cities targets to strategize groundwater recharge augmentation by developing a roadmap for improving rain water harvesting within city limits. Through IEC campaign, awareness is created about practices for water conservation like rainwater harvesting.

v. Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has formulated guidelines for the States to adopt measures  suitable  to  local  conditions,  such  as  Unified  Building  Bye  Laws  (UBBL)  of Delhi,  2016,  Model  Building  Bye  Laws  (MBBL),  2016  and  Urban  and  Regional Development  Plan  Formulation  and  Implementation  (URDPFI)  Guidelines,  2014  with adequate focus on requirement of rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures.

vi.  Government  of  India  is  implementing  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  in  8,213  water  stressed Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  in  80  districts  of  7  States,  viz.,  Haryana,  Gujarat,  Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for a period of 5 years from 01.04.2020.  The  scheme  marks  a  paradigm  shift  from  groundwater  development  to groundwater management.

vii.  Government of India has been implementing 'Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)'  with  an  aim  to  enhance  physical  access  of  water  on  farm  and  expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable  water  conservation  practices  etc.  PMKSY  has  three  components/  schemes namely Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP), Repair, Renovation & Restoration (RRR) Scheme of Water Bodies and Surface Minor irrigation (SMI) Scheme.

viii.  The Ministry of Jal Shakti has set up the Bureau of Water Use Efficiency (BWUE) under the National Water Mission on 20.10.2022, to act as a facilitator for promotion of improving water use efficiency across various sectors namely irrigation, drinking water supply, power generation, industries, etc. in the country.

ix.  Mission  Amrit  Sarovar  was  implemented  in  the  recent  times  with  provisions  for creation/rejuvenation of at least 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district of the country with the purpose to harvest and conserve water.

x.  Central  Ground Water Board (CGWB) has completed the National Aquifer Mapping (NAQUIM) Project in the entire mappable area of about 25 lakh sq. km. which has been shared  with  the  respective  State  agencies  for  implementation.  The  management  plans include various water conservation measures through recharge structures.

xi. CGWB has also prepared a Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 in consultation with States/UTs which is a macro level plan indicating various structures for  the  different  terrain  conditions  of  the  country  including  estimated  cost.  The  Master Plan  has  provisions  for  construction  of  about  1.42  crore  Rainwater  harvesting  and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM) of monsoon rainfall.

xii.  CGWB,  under  Ground  Water  Management  &  Regulation  Scheme,  has  also implemented several successful artificial recharge projects in the country for demonstrative  purpose  which  enables  the  State  Governments  to  replicate  the  same  in suitable hydro-geological conditions.

xiii.  National  Water  Policy  (2012)  has  been  formulated  by  Department  of  Water Resources, RD & GR, which inter-alia advocates rainwater harvesting and conservation of water and also highlights the need for augmenting the availability of water through direct use of rainfall.

xiv.  Department  of  Land  Resources  (DoLR)  implements  Watershed  Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) for the development  of  rainfed  and  degraded  lands  in  the  country. The  activities  undertaken, inter-alia,  include  ridge  area  treatment,  drainage  line  treatment,  soil  and  moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting, nursery raising, pasture development, livelihoods for asset-less  persons  etc.  WDC-PMKSY,  through  these  interventions,  seeks  to  ensure sustainable  development  through  improved  natural  resource  management  and  better resilience of farmers to climate change.

xv. The activity of installing rainwater harvesting structures at the Gram Panchayat level has been included in the Panchayat Development Plan (PDP) for Panchayats to opt for the same as per their needs for execution from XV Finance Commission (FC) funds or any other  available  funds  with  them.  Further,  Revamped  scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) also provides support to States/UTs for Capacity Building and training of Elected Representatives (ERs) of Panchayats, Officials and other stakeholders of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

(b)  To  enable  every  rural  household  in  the  country,  to  have  assured  potable  water,  in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis, through tap water connection,  since  August  2019,  Government  of  India  in  partnership  with  States,  is implementing  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  (JJM)  -  Har  Ghar  Jal.  As  on  date,  the  number  of households  covered  with  tap  water  in  rural  areas  under  the  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  is 15,00,27,135. The link of details is as: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx . Details  of  Central  fund  allocated,  and  fund  drawn  by  the  States/  UTs  under  Jal  Jeevan Mission till date is as under:

| Year     | Fund allocated to States (in Rs. Crore)   | Fund drawn by States (in Rs. Crore)   |
|----------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2019-20  | 11,139.21                                 | 9,951.81                              |
| 2020-21  | 23,033.02                                 | 10,917.86                             |
| 2021-22  | 92,308.77                                 | 40,009.77                             |
| 2022-23  | 1,00,789.77                               | 54,742.30                             |
| 2023-24  | 1,32,936.83                               | 69,885.01                             |
| 2024-25* | 69,926.68                                 | 12,592.17                             |

- (c) Funds allocated and No. of Individual Household Latrines constructed during the last three years under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBMG) are as under: -
- (d)  District-wise,  No.  of  Open  Defecation  Free  (ODF)  Plus  villages  is  available  at https://sbm.gov.in/SBMGdashboard/Districtdashboard.aspx .
- (e) The Government of India (GoI) launched the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in 2014-15 with a budgetary outlay of Rs.20,000 crore, for five years, up to March 2021 and has been further extended to March 2026 with a budgetary outlay of Rs.22,500 crore and a total sum of Rs.16,737.02 crore have been released by the Government of India to the National  Mission  for  Clean  Ganga  (NMCG),  from  Financial  Year  (FY)  2014-15  till 31 March  2024 . Under  Namami  Gange  Programme,  a  diverse  set  of  interventions  for cleaning  and  rejuvenation  of  river  Ganga  have  been  taken  up  including  wastewater treatment,  solid  waste  management,  river  front  management  (ghats  and  crematoria), ensuring e flow (environmental flow), rural sanitation, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and public participation etc. As on June 2024, a total of 467 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of ₹ 39,080.70 Crore, out of which 292 projects have been  completed and made  operational. Out  of  467 total projects,  200  sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up with a cost of Rs. 32,070.84 crore for creation & rehabilitation of 6,217.15 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage treatment plant (STP) capacity  and  laying  of  around  5,282.39  km  sewerage  network.  Among  these,  120 sewerage  projects  have  been  completed  resulting  in  the  creation  &  rehabilitation  of 3,241.55 MLD of STP capacity and the laying of4,527.48 km sewerage network.

| Year    |   Allocation (Rs. in crore) | IHHLs constructed   |
|---------|-----------------------------|---------------------|
| 2021-22 |                        6000 | 22,41,460           |
| 2022-23 |                        5000 | 27,30,416           |
| 2023-24 |                        7000 | 38,99,215           |

In order to treat the river comprehensively and to conserve aquatic biodiversity following interventions have been taken up:

- (i) NMCG has established  partnerships  with  various  scientific  research  institute  like Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Wildlife Institute of India (WII) etc. to restore the viable populations of all endemic and endangered biodiversity of the  river  so  that  they  occupy  their  full  historical  range  and  fulfil  their  role  in maintaining the integrity of the Ganga River ecosystems.
- (ii) A  total  of  17  projects  has  been  sanctioned  to  the  partner  organisations  for  the conservation of aquatic biodiversity.
- (iii) Six rescue and rehabilitation centres established in association with the state forest department.
- (iv) For  long  term  sustainability  of  the  conservation  efforts  a  cadre  of  around  5,000 trained volunteers, the Ganga Prahari, from the local communities has been created.
- (v) Monitoring  the  river  biodiversity  along  the  main  stem  Ganga  River  and  its tributaries  taken  up  for  mapping  the  population  &  distribution  of  the  indicator species.
- (vi) Initiatives for inventorization fish species, their conservation and improvement of fish  stock  for  select  fish  species  along  with  improvement in  livelihood for fishers has been taken up.
- (vii) Mapping of riparian floral and faunal diversity along the bank of River Ganga.

Further, Phase-II of SBM (G) has been launched with effect from 1st April 2020, with the focus on ODF sustainability and SLWM in villages i.e. to convert the villages from ODF to  ODF Plus(Model) by 2024-25. Out of total 3,786 villages on bank of Ganges, 3,681 villages have been declared  Open  Defecation  Free  (ODF)  Plus  (Aspiring*1,321 , Rising**176 and Model***2,184 ) upto 22.7.2024.

* The village which is sustaining its ODF  status and has arrangements for Solid Waste Management or Liquid Waste Management.

** The village, which is sustaining its ODF status, and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management.

*** The village which is sustaining its ODF status; has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management  and  Liquid  Waste  Management;  observes  visual  cleanliness  i.e.  minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater and no plastic waste dump in public places.  Displays ODF Plus IEC messages.

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