Jal Shakti Abhiyan | 29 Apr 2020

Why in News

The Centre has decided to utilize the forthcoming monsoon season to expand its water conservation efforts under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

  • Such interventions would ensure water source sustainability in rural areas and would strengthen the ongoing Jal Jeevan Mission being implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Key Points

  • The Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2019.
  • It is a campaign for water conservation and water security in the country through a collaborative effort of various ministries of the Government of India and state governments.
  • The focus of the campaign is on water stressed districts and blocks.
  • The important water conservation interventions are :
    • Water conservation and rainwater harvesting,
    • Renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks,
    • Reuse of water and recharging of structures,
    • Watershed development and
    • Intensive afforestation.
  • Last year Jal Shakti Abhiyan covered 256 water stressed districts across the country.
    • More than seventy- five lakh traditional and other water bodies and tanks were renovated and around a crore water conservation & rainwater harvesting structures were created.

Jal Jeevan Mission

  • Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in rural India.
  • Government of India has restructured and subsumed the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) into Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household i.e., Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ).
  • The Jal Jeevan Mission is based on various water conservation efforts like point recharge, desilting of minor irrigation tanks, use of greywater (wastewater from sinks, kitchen) for agriculture and source sustainability. It will be based on a community approach to water.
  • The Prime Minister has appealed to all states to generate maximum community participation in the form of ‘Jan Andolan’ to achieve the target of functional household tap connection by 2024.

Source: PIB