Modi leads slew of ambitious water projects in India

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Recognizing the urgency of water conservation along with a goal to provide tap water connections in all rural households in India, the national government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a slew of ambitious water projects.

One of the key global issues is Global Warming and all the countries are struggling to cope with this challenging situation. India, just like any other country, is not immune to its effects. Although India has 18 per cent of the world’s population, it only possesses 4 per cent of the world’s renewable water resources, reported Saudi Gazette.

In order to better manage the country’s water resources, PM Modi has taken many crucial steps to ensure that there is a full stop to the wastage of water. In order to achieve this, the Prime Minister has launched a number of water-saving projects.

Prime Minister Modi has proposed a five-point formula to ensure that India does not suffer a water problem in the future.

Firstly, the water-related departments were combined or integrated. Secondly, in a diverse country like India, the focus was placed on determining the nature of the plans while taking into account the ground condition in every area.

Thirdly, extreme care was taken to ensure adequate water harvesting and proper distribution of water. Fourth, every drop of water should be utilised, water recycling should be prioritised in the schemes, and finally, public knowledge and engagement should be encouraged.

The government has made many steps to prioritise ‘water governance.’ It has also established separate ministries for water resources.

Recognizing the need for water conservation, the Ministry of Jal Shakti was established in 2019. Its goal is to improve water management and supply safe drinking water to all citizens of the country.

The government has adopted the ‘Bhagirathi resolve,’ and within five years has taken the initiative to provide tap water to every rural household in the country.

An amazingly successful journey consists of the individual stories of employing indigenous water saving methods, the move from conservation to harvesting, and the extension of Jal Jeevan Mission into crores of homes.

Any region’s or country’s average yearly water availability is primarily determined by hydrometeorological and geological variables. The overall water availability by rainfall in India is 3,880 billion cubic metres (BCM) per year, according to the Reassessment of Water Availability in the Basin through Space Input Report-2020, as per the media portal.

The availability of potable water is restricted to 1,122 BCM per year owing to geological and other factors. The country’s overall need for the years 2025 and 2050 is anticipated to be 843 BCM and 1180 BCM, respectively. Water availability per capita is determined by population.

In 2001 and 2011, the average annual per capita water availability was predicted to be 1,816 cubic metres and 1,545 cubic metres, respectively.

Yearly per capita water availability of less than 1,700 cubic metres is deemed a water shortage condition, whereas annual per capita water availability of less than 1,000 cubic metres is considered an acute water scarcity situation, according to the study.

The Jal Jeevan Mission mobile app was developed and put in place to make work easier for all stakeholders. Technology has been used in an extensive manner to make positive changes and eliminate the dire scarcity of water in certain places.

Sensor-based loT solutions would be utilised for real-time monitoring to guarantee adequate water delivery in communities on a regular basis.

According to estimates, the country has around 19 crores and 4 lakh rural households.

When the Prime Minister announced the commencement of the Jal Jeevan Mission, around 15 crores 80 lakh homes, or 81 per cent of these households, lacked access to safe drinking water.

This was also true for almost 50 per cent of urban homes. Previously, the state of other water sources, notably groundwater levels, was also becoming concerning in many locations.

Every day, women in the country had to spend roughly 4 hours gathering water for the house. That is, 120 hours per month and 60 days per year were devoted only on water collection. Every day, they must trek 2 to 5 miles

The government left no stone unturned to address these issues and its will to resolve the issues is clearly visible in the ambitious projects undertaken in this direction.

‘Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh’ was established to foster a charitable attitude for the noble cause of providing drinking water from a tap to every rural family and rural institution in the country. This gift can be used to set up clean drinking water in the community of one’s choice.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana anticipates the future of water supplies. Groundwater accounts for around 65 per cent of the country’s total irrigated land and approximately 85 per cent of rural drinking water supply, as per the media portal.

The country’s limited groundwater supplies are under threat as a result of rising population, urbanisation, and industry. In response, the Ministry of Jalshakti created the Atal Bhujal Yojana in 2019 to manage groundwater resources.

It has been executed for a five-year term (2020-21 to 2024-25) with a total investment of Rs 6,000 crore. The purpose of this programme is to raise groundwater levels in parts of the nation where groundwater levels have dropped dramatically.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra are covered by this plan, which includes 78 districts, 193 blocks, and 8,350-gramme panchayats.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched in 256 water-stressed districts in 2019 with the goal of making Jal Sanchay (Save Water) a public movement.

Earlier, the state of women was a sorry state of affairs. The women in the country had to go 2 to 5 kilometres carrying a pot to fetch water.

However, the national government has linked the people with ambitious projects such as the Jal Jeevan Mission, which is especially beneficial to rural women.

Jal Jeevan Mission coverage has surpassed 42 per cent in around two and a half years, thanks to the cooperation of women and communities. (ANI)