Lok Sabha Question No. 836 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-07
Subject: Irrigation Canals
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rahul Kaswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 836

## ANSWERED ON 07.12.2023

## IRRIGATION CANALS

## †836. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to provide water to every farmer's field for irrigation by constructing canals and connecting rivers through a new scheme under the Ministry;

(b) if so, the details and current status thereof;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any research to improve the quality of drinking water, especially in rural areas and to prevent dumping of chemicals, garbage and other waste materials into the canals; and (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) & (b) Pradhan  Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16, 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. It is  an  umbrella  scheme,  consisting  of  two  major  components  being  implemented  by  the  Ministry  of  Jal Shakti, namely, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), and Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP). HKKP, in  turn,  consists  of  four  sub-components:  (i)  Command  Area  Development  &  Water  Management (CAD&WM); (ii) Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI); (iii) Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies;  and  (iv)  Ground  Water  (GW)  Development.  In  addition,  PMKSY  has  Watershed  Development (WD) component which is being implemented by Department of Land Resources. Further, during the period 2015-22,  Per  Drop  More  Crop  (PDMC)  component  was  also  being  implemented  by  Department  of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DoA&FW) under PMKSY.

Further, in December, 2021, implementation of PMKSY for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 has been approved  by  Government  of  India  However,  Ground  Water  component  under  PMKSY-HKKP  has provisionally  been  accorded  for  2021-22,  which  was  extended  subsequently  till  completion  of  ongoing works and liabilities. Also, Per Drop More Crop component, which was earlier a component of PMKSY, is now being implemented separately by DoA&FW.

Apart  from  PMKSY,  financial  assistance  is  also  being  provided  by  this  Ministry  for  creation/ stabilization of irrigation potential for the identified water resources projects under National project scheme, and also as special projects. These include Lakhwar multipurpose project, Shahpur Kandi  dam project, Polavaram  (National)  irrigation  project,  Relining  of  identified  stretches  of  Rajasthan  Feeder  and Sirhind Feeder of Punjab, North Koel reservoir project and Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.

In  addition,  in  July,  2018,  Government  of  India  has  approved  a  special  package  for  Maharashtra whereby financial assistance is being provided to 83 surface minor irrigation (SMI) projects and 8 major / medium irrigation projects in drought prone districts in Vidarbha and Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra.

Current  status  of  irrigation  potential  created  under  the  above-referred  schemes  till  March,  2023  is tabulated below:

| Schemes                                                                          | Irrigation potential created during 2016-23 (in thousand hectare)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| PMKSY-AIBP with pari passu implementation of CAD&WM(including National projects) | 2,536.05                                                            |
| PMKSY- HKKP- SMI and RRR of water bodies                                         | 366.29                                                              |
| PMKSY-HKKP - GWDevelopment                                                       | 87.24                                                               |
| PMKSY- Per Drop More Crop (micro irrigation coverage)                            | 7,274.75                                                            |
| PMKSY-Watershed Development (area brought under assured irrigation)              | 1,264.74                                                            |
| Special projects                                                                 | 127.66                                                              |
| Special Package for Maharashtra                                                  | 161.00                                                              |

(c) & (d) Government of India is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal, since August, 2019,  in  partnership  with  States,  to  make  provision  of  potable  tap  water  supply  in  adequate  quantity,  of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household. Under Jal Jeevan Mission, as per existing guidelines, IS:10500 is to be adopted for ensuring safe drinking water supply and States/ UTs have been advised to carry out testing of drinking  water sources once in  year for chemical and physical parameters, and twice in a year for bacteriological parameters. To enable States/ UTs to test water samples for  water  quality,  and  for  sample  collection,  reporting,  monitoring  and  surveillance  of  drinking  water sources,  an  online  JJM  -  Water  Quality  Management  Information  System  (WQMIS)  portal  has  been developed. States/ UTs have been advised to identify and train 5 persons, preferably women, from every village  to  conduct  water  quality  testing  using  field  testing  kits/  bacteriological  vials  at  village  level  and report the same on the WQMIS portal.

Further, National Centre for Drinking Water, Sanitation and Quality (NCDWSQ) has been set up at Kolkata,  West  Bengal  with  the  aim,  inter  alia,  to  work  in  the  area  of  identification,  mitigation  and management of drinking water quality related problems in India, with a focus, among other contaminants, on arsenic and fluoride to cater to both rural and urban water supply.

As far as prevention of dumping of chemicals, garbage and other waste material into the canals is concerned, the same lies in the domain of the State Governments concerned. Further, as per the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution), Act 1974, industrial units and local bodies are required to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs)/ common effluent treatment plants  (CETPs)  and  Sewage  treatment  plants  (STPs)  and  treat  their  effluent/  sewage  to  comply  with stipulated environmental standards before discharging into river and water bodies.