The desert State of Rajasthan, which has being struggling with water scarcity for long, now looks forward to addressing the issue with campaigns focusing on rainwater conservation and promoting groundwater recharge by reviving old water structures.
The Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan launched in January this year emphasises on solutions for rising water scarcity by reviving old water structures with public participation and providing water management techniques in the rural regions of the driest State of the country.
21,000 villages to benefit
A total of 21,000 villages of the State are targeted to be benefited in a period of three years and over 3,000 villages have been identified on the basis of priority in the first year.
Spread over 342 lakh hectares of land, out of which 60 per cent constitutes of the Thar desert, Rajasthan faces acute water shortage as it suffers from the lowest amount of precipitation in the country throughout the year.
“The Abhiyan ensures effective implementation of water harvesting and conservation related activities in the rural regions of the state,” Sriram Vedire, Chairman of the Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority said.
First phase of campaign ends on June 30
He said the first phase of the campaign is completing on June 30 and its result will be noticeable after monsoon.
Satellite images and maps are prepared for a scientific approach and mobile application is used to monitor the progress of the campaign. Five departments of the State government are working in synergy for the campaign, Mr Vedire said.
He said maps are drafted in Hindi to enable people to understand the planning.
Mr Vedire said the campaign is to make the State free from drought and its impact will be visible in next three years.
Self-reliance
Under the campaign, villages are being made self reliant in water supply.
The campaign is run by public participation and 3499 people have so far provided Rs 33,75,87,950 for it.
Some of the efforts include harvesting available run off in rural area by treatment of catchment, utilization of available water and irrigation of lands through harvested water.
Water harvesting and conservation works will be implemented from the funds available under State departments, Non Government Organisations, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Non Residents Villagers Club (NRV Club) and other such organisations. - PTI
