Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation

[EZ-TOC]

About Ministry

Ministry of Jal Shakti is a ministry under Government of India which was formed in May 2019. This was formed by merging of two ministries –

• Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation
  • The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation was a ministry of the Government of India formed in 2011. From May 2019, the ministry has been merged with the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation was the nodal department for the overall policy, planning, funding and coordination of programmes of drinking water and sanitation in the country. The ministry was responsible for the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in rural India.

• Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation 
  • In May 2019, this ministry was merged with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to form the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is the apex body for formulation and administration of rules and regulations relating to the development and regulation of the water resources in India.

 

NAMAMI GANGE YOJANA

• It is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014.

Objectives

• • To clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner.
  • Watershed management of Ganga river basin and reducing runoff and pollution
  • To develop the villages located along the main stem of river Ganga which have historic, cultural, and religious and/or tourist importance
  • River Front Management
  • Conservation of Aquatic life
  • Creating co-ordination between different ministries involved

Functioning

• • Implementation
    1. The program would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
  • Monitoring
    1. National level – High level task force chaired by Cabinet Secretary assisted by NMCG at national level
    2. State level – State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary assisted by SPMG at state level.
    3. District level – District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate.
    4. Superintendence – the River Ganga Authorities Order 2016 has created National Council for River Ganga under Prime Minister for superintendence of pollution prevention of Ganga basin.

Salient Features

• • Key focus areas
    1. ‘Aviraldhara’ (uninterrupted flow) – Enforcing River Regulatory Zones, sustainable agricultural and irrigation practices, conservation & restoration of wetlands etc
    2. ‘Nirmaldhara’ – (clean flow) of Ganga
    3. Rural – Free all villages along the river bank from open defecation by 2022
    4. Urban – expand sewerage infrastructure to 118 urban habitation along river
    5. Industries – making Zero Liquid discharge (ZLD) mandatory
    6. Ensuring ecological rejuvenation by conservation of aquatic life and biodiversity
  • Main Pillars
    1. Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure
    2. River-Surface Cleaning
    3. Afforestation
    4. Industrial Effluent Monitoring
    5. River-Front Development
    6. Bio-Diversity
    7. Public Awareness

• • Will cover 8 states/UTs, 47 towns & 12 rivers under the project.
  • Establishment of Clean Ganga Fund.
  • Under the aegis of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) & State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs) States and ULBs and PRIs will be involved in this project.
  • Setting river centric urban planning process to facilitate better citizen connects, through interventions at Ghats and River fronts.
  • Entry Level Activities:
    1. river surface cleaning to address the floating solid wastes;
    2. rural sanitation to arrest the pollution (solid & liquid) entering through rural sewage drains and construction of toilets
  • Medium Term Activities:
    1. Expansion of coverage of sewerage infrastructure in 118 urban habitations on banks of Ganga.
    2. Pollution will be checked through Treatment of waste water in drains by applying bio-remediation method, in-situ treatment, municipal sewage & effluent treatment plants
    3. Managing the industrial pollution.
    4. Biodiversity conservation, Afforestation, and water quality monitoring
  • Long Term Activities:
    1. determination of ecological-flow,
    2. increased water-use efficiency, and
    3. Improved efficiency of surface irrigation.
  • Recognizing the multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder nature of the Ganga Rejuvenation challenge, the key Ministries comprising of WR, RD&GR, Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Shipping, Tourism, Urban Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation and Rural Development are working together.

OTHER INITIATIVES UNDER NAMAMI GANGE

Clean Ganga Fund

• • • Aim of using the collection for various activities under the Namami Gange programme with the contributions from the residents of the country, NRls/ PIO and others.
    • CGF will be operated through a bank account by a Trust.
    • Domestic donors shall be eligible for tax benefits as in the case of “Swachch Bharat Kosh”.

Ganga Task force

• • • The Jawans of the Ganga Task force will be deployed on the banks of the river Ganga to ensure that industry and civilians do not pollute the river.
    • The first company of Ganga Task force Battalion was deployed at Garhmukteshwar. Three more such companies will be deployed soon at Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad.

Hybrid Annuity based PPP model (HAM)

• • • for creation and maintenance of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in two major cities in Ganga river basin – Varanasi and Haridwar

Ganga Vahini or National Volunteer force

• • • Comprising ex-servicemen and NGOs along the river to keep vigil.
    • Help inform people with do’s and don’ts to keep river clean.

Ganga Praharis

• • • An initiative of National Mission for Clean Ganga-Wildlife Institute of India (NMCG-WII) under its project “Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation”.
    • Ganga Praharis are self-motivated and trained volunteers from among the local communities of the 5 Ganga states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal), working for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga River with the ultimate objectives of restoring the Nirmal and Aviral Dhara.

Nirmal Ganga Sahbhagita

• • • To assist the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) located on the banks of the river Ganga for achieving the objectives of Clean Ganga.
    • Establishment of National Ganga Monitoring Centre and Ganga Institute of River Sciences. Creation of Model cremation ghats on banks of river & tackling religious refuse entering the Ganga.

Ganga Gram Yojana

• • • Started in 2016 by MoWR to develop the villages located along the main stem of river Ganga which have historic, cultural, and religious and/or tourist importance under Namami Gange programme.

Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan

• • • The campaign was initiated as part of the Forest Interventions in Ganga (FIG) component of Namami Gange programme.
    • Aim – To bring greater awareness among people and other stakeholders regarding the importance of afforestation for the task of Ganga Rejuvenation.
    • State Forest Departments of the 5 states have been made the nodal agencies for the smooth and effective execution of the campaign.
    • Involvement of District Ganga Committees, of which District Magistrates are the Chairpersons, has given strength to the programme.

 

ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA

• ABHY is designed as a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 6,000 Crore

Objectives

• • To tackle crisis of depleting groundwater level in 7 over­exploited and ground water stressed states: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
  • To recharge ground water and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes.

Implementation Period

• • 5 yrs. 2018-19 to 2022-23. It is proposed to be implemented with World Bank assistance.

Funding

• • Centre will support half of the total project cost and rest of the budgetary cost will be shared by the World Bank.

Salient Features

• • Approved in 2018
  • It is a Central Sector Scheme and is proposed to be implemented with
  • World Bank assistance.
  • It would initially be implemented with community participation in 78
  • identified districts in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka,
  • Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
  • Revival of surface water bodies so that ground water level can be increased, especially in the rural areas.
  • Involvement of local communities and making society responsible and bringing about behavior change to manage groundwater resource.
  • Convergence with different water schemes.

 

JAL KRANTI ABHIYAN

• Launched in 2015

Objectives

• • Strengthening grass root involvement of all stakeholders including Panchayati Raj Institutions and local bodies in the water security.
  • Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM)
  • Encouraging the adoption/utilization of traditional knowledge in water resources conservation and its management
  • Enhancing livelihood security through water security in rural areas.

Implementation

Central Water Commission (CWC) and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

Salient Features

• • The program involves use of modern technologies along with traditional wisdom for devising area/region specific innovative measures for increasing water security.
  • There are four important components of Jal Kranti Abhiyan –
    1. Jal Gram Yojana: two villages in every district, preferably facing acute water scarcity are being selected as “Jal Grams”
       • • From each Jal Grams, one elected representative of Panchayat and one representative of the Water Users Association are being identified as Jal Mitra/ Neer Nari and training is being imparted to them to create mass awareness.
         • Expenditure on various works being taken in each Jal Gram will be met from existing schemes of Central/State Governments, such as PMKSY, MGNREGA, RRR of water bodies, AIBP etc.
    2. Development of Model Command Area: a model command area of about 1000 hectare in a State shall be identified. It shall be selected by the ministry, in consultation with state governments, from an existing / ongoing irrigation project in the state where funds for development are available from various schemes.
    3. Pollution Abatement and
    4. Mass Awareness Programme.
  • A card known as Sujalam Card (with the logo “Water Saved, Water Produced) is being prepared for every Jal gram which would provide the yearly status/information on availability of water for the village from all sources.
  • States will be encouraged to form State Water Policy in accordance with National Water Policy, 2012.

 

NATIONAL HYDROLOGY PROJECT

Objectives

• • To set up a system for timely and reliable water resources data acquisition, storage, collation and management.
  • To build capacity of the State and Central sector organisations in water resources management through the use of Information Systems and adoption of State-of-the-art technologies like Remote Sensing.
  • Lead time in flood forecast from 1 day to atleast 3 days

Salient Features

• • It is a Central Sector Scheme (2016)
  • The project is supported by World Bank (50% loan)
  • The components of the project are –
    • 1. In Situ Hydromet Monitoring System and Hydromet Data Acquisition System.
      2. Setting up of National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) – recently set up to maintain a comprehensive water resource data.
      3. Water Resources Operation and Management System
      4. Water Resources Institutions and Capacity Building
  • NHP will gather Hydro-meteorological data which will be stored and analysed and can be assessed by any user.
  • It will facilitate integrated water resource management by adopting river basin approach through collation and management of hydro-meteorological data. This will also help in water resource assessment.

 

DAM REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (DRIP)

• Launched in 2012.

Objectives

• • to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner and mitigate risks to ensure safety of downstream population and property,
  • To strengthen the dam safety institutional setup of participating States/ Implementing Agencies (CWC).

Intended Beneficiary

• • Both urban and rural communities dependent on the reservoir and downstream communities, who are prone to risk associated with dam failure or operational failure.
  • Seven states of India, namely Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand.

Implemented By

• • Nodal Agency – Central Water Commission (CWC) under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation
  • Implemented by The Central Dam Safety Organization of CWC at Central level, and Water Resources Departments and State Electricity Boards in the participating States.

Salient Features

• • It is an externally-aided project as 80% of the total project is provided by the World Bank as loan/credit and remaining 20% is borne by the States / Central Government in which repair and Rehabilitation of 257 dams will be done.
  • Due to the addition/deletion of few dams during implementation by partner agencies, presently 198 dam projects are being rehabilitated.
  • It is proposed to extend DRIP for a period of two year i.e. upto June 2020 in view of anticipated complexities in some of the important activities of DRIP.
  • The Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the Dams has been proposed that identifies potential emergency conditions at a dam and prescribes the procedures to be followed to minimize loss of life and property damage.

 

DAM HEALTH AND REHABILITATION MONITORING APPLICATION (DHARMA)

• DHARMA is a web-based software package to support the effective collection and management of Dam Safety data in respect of all large dams under the DRIP Project.

Objectives

• • to enhance the capacity of individuals and organisations to manage their dam assets scientifically and professionally so as to sustain advantages of dams (irrigation and water supply, flood control, hydropower etc.) and prevent disasters

Salient Features

• • This is a software program launched during International Dam Safety Conference – 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram under DRIP.
  • DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively.
  • It will help to document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams in the country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need-based rehabilitation.
  • It will digitize all dam related data & document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams, thus, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based rehabilitation

Need for DRIP & DHARMA India ranks 3rd after China and the USA in terms of number of large dams India has 5200+ large dams in operation (about 445 under construction) and several thousand smaller dams. Issue: About 80% of large dams are over 25 years old. More than 200 dams more than 100 years old. Dams suffer from structural deficiencies Shortcomings in operation & monitoring facilities. Improper compliance with the current design standards. This affects the safety of the structures and pose risks to life and properties of people downstream of the dam.

 

NATIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT SCHEME (NGMIS)

Objectives

• • Sustainable management of ground water by addressing supply as well as demand side to reduce ground water consumption.
  • The project also aims to create awareness among farmers about the ill effects of rapid drying-up of groundwater in the wells.

Intended Beneficiary

• • It will be implemented across the country, special focus will be on states having ‘dark’ (over-exploited) zones where the withdrawal of water is more than the recharge.
  • These states include Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh (Bundelkhand region and parts of western UP) and Madhya Pradesh (Bundelkhand region).

Salient Features

• • Half of the total cost will be supported by World Bank as a loan.
  • It has four components:
    1. decision support tools for groundwater management;
    2. state specific institutional and legal framework for sustainable groundwater management;
    3. enhance groundwater recharge and improve water use efficiency; and
    4. strengthening community-based institutions to foster management
  • It consists of two Results Areas that aim to capture the Scheme’s four components.
  • Improved planning and implementation of groundwater management interventions through community-led Water Security Plans (WSPs)
  • Strengthened institutional framework and effective groundwater data monitoring and disclosure
  • Potential investment categories will be excluded from NGMIP. These include:
    1. construction of major dams and new large scale irrigation systems; and
    2. major industrial wastewater collection, treatment and recharge systems through injection.

 

OTHER SCHEMES/INITIATIVES

 

For Notes on Schemes of other department of Ministry of Jal Shakti i.e. Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation you can click here.

To read and learn about Government Schemes and Programs related to other Ministries,  Click Here.  (Notes on all Government Ministries Schemes and Programs)