Jal shakti abhiyan: catch the rain campaign 2022

Jal shakti abhiyan: catch the rain campaign 2022

What is the news :

• India hosts 16 per cent of the world’s population with only four per cent of the world’s freshwater resources. In a country where women, especially in rural areas face the drudgery of walking miles to collect water, our streets are flooded in monsoons.
• As a solution to this mismanagement, President of India Ram Nath Kovind, launched the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022’ in New Delhi on March 29, 2022.
• He said that district magistrates and village sarpanchs would have to play a crucial role in motivating the local populace for active participation in water conservation work.

Catch the Rain campaign 2022 ( Need):

• As many as 256 of 700 districts in India have reported ‘critical’ or ‘over-exploited’ groundwater levels according to the most recent Central Ground Water Board data (from 2017).
• Some 70 per cent of our water sources are contaminated and our major rivers are dying because of pollution.
• Niti – Aayog said that 21 cities — including Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai — probably exhausted their groundwater resources in 2021.
  As on 30 March 2022, there are 9,33,51,080 rural household tap connections.
• The total rural households stands at 19,31,99,823 which means that the tap water connections have only touched a penetration rate of 48.32 per cent.

Achievements of “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2021”

• In the Abhiyan, the prequel to the new launched campaign, a total of 10,64,929 water conservation and rain water harvesting structures were constructed.
• The renovation of 1,79,242 traditional water bodies was done. A total of 5,13,269 reuse and recharge structures were also build under the campaign.
• Intensive afforestation and many training programmes were also conducted as part of the Abhiyan.

Other efforts of government to solve water crisis

• The government’s ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has achieved a major milestone on March 21, with 6 crore rural households getting tap water connections.
  According to an official statement of JJM in February, 100 districts have become ‘Har Ghar Jal’, i.e. every rural household in these districts is getting assured tap water supply.
• Besides JJM, the government has introduced various initiatives under Atal Bhujal Yojna, Namami Gange Mission, PM Krishi Yojana and Per Drop, More Crop Campaign for drinking water management and water supply for agriculture to support farmers and rural citizens.
• But it should always be remembered that government cannot manage the water crisis alone, without a concerted effort from civil society.

Other recent news :

President Kovind Confers National Water Awards 2022:

• The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has presented the 3rd National Water Awards in New Delhi. National Water Awards is given for exemplary work in the field of water resource management.
• The first National Water Award was launched in 2018, by the Jal Shakti Ministry. A total of 57 National Water Awards for 2022 have been conferred to states, organizations and others in 11 different categories.

In the Best State category:

• Uttar Pradeshhas been awarded first prize, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

In the Best District category:

• The ‘Best District’ awards for the north zone was bagged by Muzaffarnagar(Uttar Pradesh) and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Punjab);
• For the south zone, it was Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh);
• For the east zone, East Champaran (Bihar) and Godda (Jharkhand) won the award;
• Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Vadodara (Gujarat) and Banswara (Rajasthan) won the awards in the west zone.
• Goalpara (Assam) and Siang (Arunachal Pradesh) won the awards for the northeast zone.

In the “Best Village Panchayat” Category

North Zone

• Dhaspad, Almora, Uttarakhand
• Jamola, Rajouri, J&K
• Balua, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

South Zone

• Yelerampura Panchayat, Tumakuru District, Karnataka
• Vellaputhur Panchayat, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu
• Elappully Grama Panchayat, Palakkad District, Kerala

East Zone

• Telari Panchayat, Gaya District, Bihar
• Chhindiya Panchayat, Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh
• Guni Panchayat, Khunti District, Jharkhand

West Zone

• Takhatgadh, Sabarkantha, Gujarat
• Kankapar, Kachchh, Gujarat
• Surdi, Solapur, Maharashtra

North-East Zone

• Sialsir, Sirchip, Mizoram
• Aminda Simsanggre , West Garo Hills, Meghalaya
• Chambagre, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya

In the “Best Urban Local Body” Category

• Vapi Urban Local Body, Gujarat
• Dapoli Nagar Panchayat, Maharashtra
• Madurai Municipal Corporation, Tamil Nadu

In the “Best Media (Print & Electronic)” Category

• Agrowon, Sakal Media Pvt. Ltd. (Adinath Dattatray Chavan)
• Sandesh Daily Bhuj Edition

In the “Best School” Category

• Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Kaveripattinam in Tamil Nadu, Amalorpavam Lourds Academy, Thiruvallur, Puducherry and Amity International School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh won the awards in the Best School category.

In the “Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for Campus usage” Category

• Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Jammu
• IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited Faridabad

In the “Best Industry” Category

• Trident (Textile) Ltd., Punjab
• Steel Authority of India Ltd., New Delhi

In the “Best NGO” Category

• Gramvikas Sanstha, Aurangabad
• Vivekananda Research and Training Institute, Bhavnagar

In the “Best Water User Association” Category

• Panchgachiya MDTW WUA, Hooghly, West Bengal
• Hatinada Champa Purulia, West Bengal
• Amtore Mini River Lift Irrigation WUA, Purulia, West Bengal

In the “Best Industry for Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities” Category

• HAL, Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Dharampal Satyapal Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh