At present the National Water Policy - 2012 is in effect. However, to address the present challenges in water sector, revision of National Water Policy has been envisaged and a drafting committee was constituted to revise the National Water Policy.

        Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing JalJeevan Mission (JJM) – HarGharJal which aims at providing potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis to every rural household, through tap water connection, by 2024 with an estimated outlay of Rs.3.60 lakh crore. The water sources which inter alia include groundwater, surface water (river, reservoir, lake, pond, springs, etc.) and rain water stored in small tanks are being used as sources for drinking water supply schemes.

Government of India launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) as a water focused national urban mission in 2015 with an aim to achieve universal coverage of water  supply  in  500  Mission  cities  for  five  years  which  is  extended  till march 2023 for completion of      projects. At the inception of AMRUT, the water supply coverage was 64% and by the end of the Mission it aims to cover 100% households. The target is to provide 139 lakh water tap connections to achieve universal coverage. So far 115 lakh new water tap connections have been provided under AMRUT, in convergence with other schemes.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) has been launched on 1st October, 2021 to carry forward the objective of universal coverage of water supply from 500 cities to all statutory towns. AMRUT 2.0 focuses on making the cities ‘self-reliant’ and ‘water secure’. Mission targets provision of 2.68 crore tap connections to achieve the intended outcomes. Total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹2,77,000crore including central share of ₹76,760 crore for five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.

AMRUT 2.0 aims to promote circular economy of water through development of City Water Balance Plan for each city focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation.

CGWB have taken up artificial recharge work in select Aspirational Districts in the year 2018 and completed the same in 2020. Appropriate structures were constructed to harvest the runoff water in streams for storage at suitable locations for augmenting recharge of the ground water. The structures constructed included check dams, percolation tanks, subsurface barrier, recharge wells and recharge shafts.

CGWB has taken up Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme during XII Plan, under the scheme of Ground Water Management and Regulation for the entire country. The aquifer mapping programme is aimed at delineating aquifer disposition and their characterization for preparation of aquifer/ area specific ground water management plans, with community participation. The management plans are shared with the respective State Governments for taking appropriate measures for implementation.

National Water Mission had launched a campaign ‘SahiFasal’ campaign on 14.11.2019 to nudge farmers in the water stressed areas to grow crops which are not water intensive, but use water efficiently, and are economically remunerative.  Under SahiFasal, series of workshops have been organized in the water stressed areas of the country, including four workshops in Amritsar (Punjab) on 14.11.2019, New Delhi on 26-27.11.2019, Aurangabad (Maharashtra) on 13.01.2020 and Kurukshetra (Haryana) on 14.02.2020.

National Water Mission has launched another campaign “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) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata, with people’s active participation, before the onset of monsoon to ensure storage of rainwater.

Ministry of Jal Shakti launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan-I (JSA-I), a campaign for water conservation and water security, in 256 water-stressed districts of the country. Under JSA-I, officers, groundwater experts and scientists from the Government of India have worked with State and District officials in these water-stressed districts of the country to promote water conservation and water resource management by focusing on accelerated implementation of five target interventions, viz, water conservation & rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse and recharge of bore wells, water shed development and intensive afforestation.

The second “Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Catch The Rain” (JSA:CTR) campaign, was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22 March 2021, with the theme – “Catch The Rain, Where it falls, When it falls”. JSA:CTR is taken up in all districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country during the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country i.e. from March 2021 to 30 November 2021.

Government of India has launched 3rd edition of “Water Heroes-Share Your Stories” contest on 01.12.2021 for one year to promote the value of water in general and for supporting country-wide efforts on water conservation and sustainable development of water resources. This contest is aimed at sharing stories of people who are contributing towards water conservation.

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, ShriBishweswarTuduin a written  reply in Lok Sabha today.

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