“Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” Campaign launched

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA): Catch the Rain (CTR)” campaign on the occasion of World Water Day (22^nd March).

About the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign

• Widespread: It will be taken up in all districts, rural as well as urban areas, of the country.
• Theme: The main theme of the campaign will be “Catch the Rain, where it falls when it falls”.
• Objective:The campaign is being launched as a Jan Andolan to take water conservation at the grass-roots level through people’s participation to accelerate water conservation across the country.
  • The campaign is intended to nudgethe State and all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata to ensure storage of rainwater, as rains falling in the four/five months of monsoon are the only source of water for most parts of the country.
• Implementing Agency: It will be implemented through the department of drinking water and sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Implementation Period: The campaign will be implemented during the period 22^ndMarch 2021 to 30^th November 2021 - the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country.
• De-centralized program:Gram Sabhas will be held in all Gram Panchayats of each district (except in the poll-bound States) to discuss issues related to water conservation.
  • These Gram Sabhas will also take "JalShapath" or Oath for water conservation.
• Intervention areas: Water conservation and rainwater harvesting, Renovation of traditional and other water bodies, Reuse of recharge structures, Watershed development, and Intensive afforestation.

The Ken Betwa Link Project

• Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh also signed a historic agreement to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project (KBP).
• This agreement will herald the beginning of inter-state cooperation to implement to carry water from areas that have surplus water to drought-prone and water deficit areas through the interlinking of rivers.