Geo-tagging of waterbodies and water harvesting structures in the State will be taken up under the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan-Catch the Rain’ campaign of the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The State government issued orders this month instructing district collectors to roll out the campaign in their respective jurisdictions. For its smooth implementation, ‘Jal Shakti Kendras’ will be established at all the district headquarters. The government has also appointed the Secretary, Water Resources, as the nodal officer of the campaign.
Helmed by the National Water Mission (NWM), the national-level campaign themed on ‘Catch the rain where it falls, when it falls’ envisages the creation of suitable rainwater harvesting structures—with active public participation—for urban and rural regions.
Mapping and cataloguing of all existing waterbodies/water harvesting structures—wells and ponds included—using National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) data and GIS technology forms a key component of Jal Shakti Abhiyan. NWM has also prepared the guidelines for the inventory of water bodies and creation of GIS-based water conservation plans at the district-level.
“Rather than being a specific scheme, the campaign would require districts to converge or dovetail existing water-related schemes and water harvesting programmes. Creation of the district-level database on water bodies is one of the priorities,” Pranabjyoti Nath, Secretary (Water Resources), and nodal officer of the campaign in Kerala, said.
Other important targets of the campaign include maintenance and revival of rainwater harvesting structures. In the long run, this wealth of data, which will be uploaded online, is expected to aid the future planning of district-level water conservation plans.
NWM is providing an incentive-based financial grant up to ₹2 lakh to each district. Initially, ₹1 lakh will be given as grant and the rest will be released based on the performance and quality of work.
