What are the salient features of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan launched by the Government of India for water conservation and water security?. (UPSC IAS Mains 2020 General Studies Paper – 3)
The Jal Shakti Abhiyan is a time-bound, mission-mode campaign for water conservation and water security. It is a mass movement to bring all the stakeholders under one ambit of water conservation drive. The campaign was mainly focused on the water-stressed blocks and districts.
Water Scarcity in India
- India has nearly 17.7% of the world’s population which has access to only 4% of the usable water sources. Poor management of resources and lack of government attention has contributed as a major factor for water scarcity in India.
- As per NITI Aayog report released in June 2019, India is facing the worst-ever water crisis in history. Approximately 600 million people or roughly around 45 % of the population in India is facing high to severe water str
- As per the report, several Indian cities will run out of their main source of water e., groundwater by 2020. The report goes on to say that nearly 40% of the population will have absolutely no access to drinking water by 2030 and 6% of India’s GDP will be lost by 2050 due to the water crisis.
The salient features of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan
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- The Jal Shakti Abhiyan is a campaign for water conservation and water security in the country through a collaborative effort of various ministries of the Government of India and state governmen
- The focus of the campaign is on water stressed districts and block The teams of officers from the central government will visit and work with district administration in water stressed blocks and districts, to ensure five important water conservation interventions.
The important water conservation interventions are:
- Water conservation and rainwater harvesting,
- Renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks,
- Reuse of water and recharging of structures,
- Watershed development, and
- Intensive afforesta
- The water conservation interventions will also be supplemented with special interventions including the development of block and district water conservation plans, promotion of efficient water use for irrigation and better choice of crops through Krishi Vigyan Kendr
Following the massive water crisis across India in the summer of 2019, the Central government hurriedly launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA). These kind of interventions would ensure water source sustainability in rural areas and would strengthen the ongoing Jal Jeevan Mission being implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
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