Lok Sabha Question No. 2065 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-14
Subject: Policy on Water Harvesting for Cities
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Sanjeev Kumar Singari, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2065 TO BE ANSWERED ON DECEMBER 14, 2023

## POLICY ON WATER HARVESTING FOR CITIES

NO. 2065.

DR. SANJEEV KUMAR SINGARI: SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY:

Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is formulating any policy on water harvesting for those cities in the country where water crisis is continuously increasing and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether any survey has been conducted in this regard;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) the names of the cities in Andhra Pradesh where water crisis is increasing continuously as indicated in the survey conducted;
- (e) whether the Government is running any programme to educate the people regarding water harvesting; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE)

(a) to (d): Water  and  Sanitation  are  State/  Urban  Local  Bodies  (ULBs) Subjects. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) plays supportive role through  schematic  interventions  and  advisories.  It  provides  technical  & financial support to States/ ULBs.

MoHUA through its National Missions i.e., Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) & AMRUT 2.0 is supporting the efforts of State Government for management of water crisis.

Further, as per the information received from States/ Union Territories (UTs), 35 States/ UTs have adopted the provision of rainwater harvesting in their respective building bye-laws as suggested by Model Building Bye-Laws (MBBL) 2016.

Central  Public  Health  and  Environmental  Engineering  Organization (CPHEEO), MoHUA has also published Guidance Document on Creation of Rain

Water Harvesting Parks.

## (https://mohua.gov.in/pdf/6566e1048ab41guidance-document-on-rainwaterharvesting-parks-final.pdf)

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), a subordinate office under Ministry of Jal Shakti, periodically monitors the ground water levels throughout the Country including cities on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. The details regarding Andhra Pradesh are at Annexure.

CGWB  has  further completed Aquifer  Mapping  and  Management Programme under the scheme of Ground Water Management and Regulation. The  Aquifer  Mapping  is  aimed  to  delineate  aquifer  disposition  and  their characterization  for  preparation  of  aquifer/  area  specific  ground  water management plans. The management plans are shared with the respective State Governments for taking appropriate measures and implementation.

Ministry of Jal Shakti launched a campaign 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain' with the tag line 'Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls' to nudge  the  states  and  all  stakeholders  to  create  Rain  Water  Harvesting Structures (RWHS), with people's active participation focusing on saving and conserving rainwater.

- (e) & (f): National Water Mission (NWM) has been implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA:CTR) campaign with the objective to nudge the States  and  stake-holders  to  create  appropriate  Rain  Water  Harvesting Structures  (RWHS)  suitable  to  the  climatic  conditions  and  sub-soil  strata before  monsoon. Under this campaign, drives  to  make check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS etc., removal of encroachments and de-silting of  tanks to increase their storage capacity; removal of obstructions in the channels which bring water to them from the catchment areas etc., repairs to step-wells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells to put water back to aquifers etc. are being taken up with the active participation of people.

One of the focused interventions of the campaign includes awareness generation.  For  generating  awareness  amongst  the  citizens  especially  in youth and children and to increase the public outreach of the programmes/ schemes of  the  Government,  National  Water  Mission  undertakes  intensive Information,  Education  &  Communication  (IEC)  activities  which  includes organizing  workshops/  webinars/  seminars,  disseminating  the  message  of water  through  films/  jingles/  songs,  holding  nukkad  nataks/  slogans/  wall writings etc. through Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS). NWM through NYKS  has  achieved  involvement  of  over  40  million  of  youth  in  3  million activities  under  JSA:  CTR.  In  the  current  year,  NWM  collaborated  with concerned  Ministries  for  broadcast  of  'Just  Junior'  series  on  television, promotion of 'Mission LiFE', Vinyl Wrapping of Trains.

CGWB  has 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 envisages the construction of about 1.42 Crore Rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the  country  to  harness  185  Billion  Cubic  Meter  (BCM)  of  monsoon  rainfall. Besides,  the  other  important  steps  taken  by  the  Central  Government  for sustainable ground water management including water conservation and rain water harvesting in the country can be seen at:

https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploa ds/2023/02/2023021742.pdf.

Under AMRUT 2.0, rejuvenation of water bodies and wells is one of the main components. So far, under AMRUT 2.0, 2,135 Water Body Rejuvenation projects  worth  ₹3,802  crore  have  been  approved  by  MoHUA.  Aquifer Management  Plan  will  also  be  prepared  to  focus  on  maintaining  positive groundwater balance in urban aquifer systems.

*****

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  to  (d)  OF  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2065  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 14.12.2023 REGARDING 'POLICY ON WATER HARVESTING FOR CITIES'.

## Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean [NOVEMBER (2012 to 2021] and NOVEMBER 2022 in Andhra Pradesh

| S.No.   | Name of the City   | No. of   | Rise   | Rise   | Rise   | Rise   | Rise   | Rise   | Fall   | Fall   | Fall   | Fall   | Fall   | Fall   | Rise   | Rise   | Fall   | Fall   |
|---------|--------------------|----------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| S.No.   | Name of the City   | wells    | 0-2 m  | 0-2 m  | 2-4 m  | 2-4 m  | >4 m   | >4 m   | 0-2 m  | 0-2 m  | 2-4 m  | 2-4 m  | >4 m   | >4 m   |        |        |        |        |
| S.No.   | Name of the City   | Analyzed | No     | %      | No     | %      | No     | %      | No     | %      | No     | %      | No     | %      | No     | %      | No     | %      |
| 1       | Vijayawada         | 3        | 1      | 33.3%  | 0      | 0.0%   | 0      | 0.0%   | 1      | 33.3%  | 1      | 33.3%  | 0      | 0.0%   | 1      | 33.3%  | 2      | 66.7%  |
| 2       | Vishakhapatnam     | 16       | 7      | 43.8%  | 1      | 6.3%   | 1      | 6.3%   | 5      | 31.3%  | 2      | 12.5%  | 0      | 0.0%   | 9      | 56.3%  | 7      | 43.8%  |