Union Minister of Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has today launched a national level mass outreach campaign “Watershed Yatra”, in Hybrid mode to generate people’s participation and create awareness about the Watershed Development activities carried out under Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY 2.0) in project areas. Union  Ministers of State,  Rural Development,  Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani and Shri Kamlesh Paswan were also present and addressed the gathering in the launch event of Watershed Yatra. Concerned Ministers of State/UT Governments, senior officials and officials associated with implementation of WDC-PMKSY participated in physical mode in their respective States and launched the Yatra simultaneously in their States/UTs. A total of about 800 Gram Panchayats and more than one lakh people participated in the Watershed Yatra launch program.

Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasized the importance of soil and water conservation for the present & future needs of the people and community participation in the effective & successful implementation of WDC PMKSY Projects across the country. Accordingly, he urged the people to participate in the yatra whole heartedly and ensure success of WDC-PMKSY. He also opined that the Yatra will provide a platform for achieving “Community Driven Approach”, galvanise the implementation machinery at field level and highlights the importance of sustainable management of natural resources for improving agriculture productivity, livelihoods, and the environment. He also mentioned that the activities to be undertaken during the Watershed Yatra like Bhoomi Poojan of New Works, Lokarpan of Completed works, Watershed Mahotsav, Watershed ki Panchayat, Awards and recognitions to the Watershed Margdarshaks in project areas, Bhumi-Jal Pitch and Shramdan  etc., will drive the message of sustainable resource management to the common people.

On this occasion of launch of the Yatra, Shri Chouhan also announced ‘Watershed - Janbhagidari Pratiyogita’ under WDC-PMKSY 2.0 for the years 2025 & 2026. He also stated that it is a unique model based on the principles of community-led watershed management, incorporating 'Public-Private-People Partnership (4Ps)'. Under this, the works done in the project areas through government funding and public participation will be evaluated at the state level and the projects doing excellent and remarkable work will be given an additional reward of Rs. 20 lakh per project. A total provision of Rs 70.80 crore has been made for this, which will benefit 177 projects every year. The evaluation of projects for this year's competition will be done in the month of April.

Union Minister also mentioned that the competition will not only speed up the departmental work but the general public will also contribute to the construction and maintenance of water harvesting structures by through Shramdaan etc. as per their capacity. The main objective of this competition is to create Healthy competition, public awareness, public participation and a sense of belongingness among the general public for soil and water conservation, so that in future also the villagers take care of these structures and manage them properly.

The Watershed Yatra will consist of Van movement for around 60-90 days across 805  projects, which cover 6673 GPs (13587 villages) in 26 States and 2 UTs. Under the activity of Watershed ki Panchayat, talk by experts about sustainable soil and water management practices will be organized and around 8,000 individuals having contributed in implementation of WDC-PMKSY works in different Project Areas will be honoured, which will further motivate watershed communities.

The Department has developed a Learning Management System (LMS) on Watershed Development and hosted  on DoLR's website, which has also been linked to MY Bharat portal for further engagement of youth. A certificate will be issued to participating youths, which will motivate them to participate in Shramdaan activities.

A mega event for "Watershed Yatra" has been created on 'MY Bharat portal' to connect with and involve Youths across the country. This will help in mobilizing youth volunteers for activities like Shramdan, strengthening community participation in watershed projects and will help in better implementation of WDC-PMKSY 2.0 scheme. This will also help in creating a community cadre of watershed workers and leaders.

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MG/KSR