The Government of India is going to launch a Water Conservation scheme- Atal Bhoojal Yojana.
Key points:
- Name of the scheme- Atal Bhoojal Yojana
- Outlay of the scheme- Rs.6,000 crores
- With the help of the World Bank
- Ministry-Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- Duration-5 years
- Approved on: 7 February 2019
Atal Bhoojal Yojana:
- The Government of India is going to launch a Water Conservation scheme known as Atal Bhoojal Yojana.
The main objectives of the scheme are
- To recharge groundwater and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes.
- The revival of surface water bodies so that the groundwater level can be increased.
- The Atal Bhujal Yojana will be launched in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh covering 78 districts, 193 blocks and more than 8,300-gram panchayats.
Funding for the project:
Total expenditure for the scheme is Rs. 6,000 cr. The fund of 6000 cr will be raised by the
- Ministry of Finance and the
- World Bank.
Half of the total cost of this central scheme will be supported by the World Bank as the loan while the remaining half (Rs 3,000 crore) will be funded by the government.
Present status of the scheme:
The cabinet committee has set a fund of Rs.6,000 crore for this scheme but yet to get the approval from the Ministry of Finance. The government of India has not announced any official date for the launch of this scheme.
Why the scheme is required?
- The last assessment report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows that 1,034 of 6584 assessed blocks in the country are over-exploited (usually referred to as ‘dark zones’).
- It means in 1,034 blocks in India annual groundwater consumption is more than the annual groundwater recharge.
- Besides, 934 blocks fall in different stages of criticality due to depletion without a recharge.
- According to the report of the Central Ground Water Board, the overexploited units are mostly concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
- The CGWB report shows that Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi are worst among them.
Benefits of the scheme:
- By the implementation of this scheme, groundwater will recharge consequently increasing the level of groundwater
- This scheme will also revive the water bodies like rivers so that the level of groundwater can be increased especially in the rural areas.
