The Ministry of Jal Shakti was formed in May 2019. This was formed by merging two ministries; the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Under this ministry, a Jal Shakti Abhiyan campaign was started which has set a target of time-bound deliverables and dedicated earnestly to mission-mode water conservation. Its foremost interventions include Water conservation and rainwater harvesting, Renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, Reuse and recharge structures, Watershed development, Intensive afforestation.
Under ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain’ Campaign launched by The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 22nd March 2021 to be undertaken across the country in both urban and rural areas with the theme “Catch the Rain, where it falls, when it falls”. The Campaign is to be implemented across the country, in both urban and rural areas from March 22 to November 30, 2021 (the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country). Under the scheme, the government focuses on rainwater harvesting and water conservation, including initiatives such as renovation of traditional water bodies and tanks, reuse of water and recharge structures, watershed development and afforestation in 256 districts.
The main aim of the campaign is to take water conservation at the grass-root level through people’s participation and urge stakeholders to create rainwater harvesting structures suitable to the climatic conditions and subsoil strata, to ensure proper storage of rainwater. Efforts should be made so that all buildings in the district should have rooftop RWHS and that maximum quantity of rain water falling in any compound should be impounded within the compound itself. The basic aim should be that No or only limited water will flow out of the compound. This will help in improving soil moisture and raising the ground water table. In urban areas it will reduce water gushing onto roads, damaging them and will prevent urban flooding.
