UP aces list in Rs 1 lakh per district grant for catch the rain plan

President Ram Nath Kovind had launched the plan in March, funds for which were released by the Jal Shakti ministry in April writes Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi:Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states which have received central financial assistance at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per district under its catch the rain plan. As per rules, a financial grant of Rs 2 lakh each is allocated by the Jal Shakti ministry to every district to meet part of the expenditure in Geographic Information System mapping of water bodies and preparation of scientific plans.

Initially, a Rs 1 lakh grant has been given. The remaining amount will be given based on the performance and quality of work done in every district, said officials. President Ram Nath Kovind had launched the plan in March, funds for which were released by the Jal Shakti ministry in April. Among the districts covered under the plan, UP has 46, MP 44, Tamil Nadu 34, Telangana 32, Bihar 28, Rajasthan 25, Haryana 22, Assam 19, J&K 18, Gujarat 14, Jharkhand 13, Uttarakhand 13, Chhattisgarh 13, Andhra Pradesh 13, Kerala 11, Odisha 11, Arunachal Pradesh 11, Punjab 7, Himachal Pradesh 7, Maharashtra 3, Karnataka 2 and West Bengal 2.

Given that all states are facing water stress, the plan aims to harvest rainwater where it falls to boost the local water bodies as well as add to the groundwater level. Water being a state subject the projects are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the state governments as per their own resources and priorities. The central government supplements the efforts of the states through technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

Accordingly, states have been advised from time to time to work on intensive rainwater harvesting and water conservation which inter-alia include maintenance of existing rainwater harvesting structures, renovation of traditional water bodies, removal of encroachments of tanks/lakes and in their catchment areas and to prepare well in advance for implementation of the focused interventions of the campaign.

“The focused interventions of the campaign include rainwater harvesting and water conservation, enumerating, geo-tagging and making an inventory of all water bodies, preparation of scientific plans for water conservation based on it, setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts, intensive afforestation and awareness generation,” said an official. The campaign involves inter-sectoral convergence of all development programmes of the central as well as state governments.

Funds under different schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and Repair, Renovation and Restoration, Watershed Development Component, Per Drop More Crop under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana are also leveraged for the implementation of catch the rain project, the officials said.