Our Reporter
Dimapur, March 14 (EMN): Nagaland has so far completed 29 water-related works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) at a cost of INR 336.98 lakh, while 661 water-related works are still in progress with an expenditure of INR 2755.88 as of March 10, 2022.
According to the Minister of Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on March 14, a total of 462392 water-related works under MGNREGA had been completed at a cost of INR 671188.38 lakh, while 1084821 water-related works were still in progress at a cost of INR 1471517.08 lakh as of March 10, 2022.
As of March 7, 2022, INR 3.15000 crore has been released for Nagaland under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana-Watershed Development Component (PMKSY-WDC).
The Central government has taken various initiatives for sustainable groundwater management including augmentation of groundwater levels in the country which may contribute to rejuvenation of the streams in drought prone areas including conservation of rainwater at village and town levels.
The government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019 which continued during 2021 to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the country. Further, the campaign “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA: CTR) was launched on March 22, 2021.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has established guidelines for states to take measures that are appropriate for their local situations, with a strong emphasis on the need for rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures.
The Central Government generally supports water conservation works and construction of rain water harvesting structures in the country through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – Watershed Development Component (PMKSY-WDC).
The Ministry of Jal Shakti's Department of Water Resources, RD & GR (DoWR, RD & GR) is also implementing INR 6,000 crore under Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a central sector scheme for sustainable groundwater resource management with community participation.
Meanwhile, Atal Jal is being implemented in 81 water stressed districts and 8,774 gram panchayats of seven states viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.