Jal Shakti Abhiyan

WHY IN NEWS?

The Centre has decided to utilise the forthcoming monsoon season to expand its water conservation efforts under the national Jal Shakti Abhiyan. Ministry of Jal Shakti also ensured that all the work will be carried out under strict implementation of social distancing and use of face covers/ masks and other necessary precautions.

WHAT IS JAL SHAKTI ABHIYAN (JSA)?

• Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) intended to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks of 256 districts in India.
• Teams of officers from Central Government along- with technical officers from Ministry of Jal Shakti were deputed to visit water stressed districts and to work in close collaboration with district level officials to undertake suitable interventions.
• To promote water conservation and water resource management, five target interventions are implemented:
  • Water conservation & rainwater harvesting
  • Renovation of traditional & other water-bodies/tanks
  • Reuse and recharge of bore-wells
  • Watershed development
  • Intensive afforestation.

Critical view of the Scheme

• The government has given broader plans of JSA but there is a critical need to spell out the specific outcomes and targets in a tangible and achievable manner.
• In the absence of targets, the focus on objectives can be limited as one cannot ascertain:
  • Extent of work to be done.
  • Priority areas to be covered.
  • Measure performance.
• The scheme should also cover wastewater recycling and reuse, since large amount of piped water supply to urban areas that have potential for recycling, go to sewage unutilised.
• For example, the Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) estimates that of the total 135 litres per capita per day (LPCD) water supplied in urban areas, 85 LPCD is goes back in form of sewage which could be reused if planned efficiently.
• While renovation of traditional and other water bodies is a critical step, stringent administrative action also needs to be taken to prevent and remove encroachment near water bodies. JSA and its machinery can be used to identify these critical encroachments and subsequently, notify the State and district administration.
• Watershed development is a long-term intervention and requires proper technical understanding for identification of sites, intensive human efforts, time and sufficient resources allocation. JSA need to have a proper roadmap on watershed development with proper resources and objectives.

How to make the Scheme more effective?

• There is a need for wastewater policy both for urban and rural areas that promotes water use efficiency, recycling and reuse, so that schemes like JSA can have more tangible goals.
• JSA cannot claim much success until excessive extraction of groundwater is prevented. Two Bills legislated by the government that could have had a large implication in controlling exploitation of groundwater and managing river water namely -Model Bill for the Conservation, Protection, Regulation and Management of Groundwater, 2016 and the National Water Framework Bill, 2016 are still waiting for enactment.
• JSA should develop a monitoring mechanism along with the district authorities to ensure strict compliance of treatment and disposal of sewage and effluents before being discharged into water bodies.
• Though afforestation has been on the JSA agenda, it should make sure that there is no deforestation in and around the affected districts. Artificial forests cannot substitute natural ones. Artificial plantation leads to loss in biodiversity and native forests.
• Therefore, preventing the ongoing deforestation is a more suitable policy measure than planting trees with limited scientific and environmental understanding.

CONCLUSION

• To summarize Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is an intensive water conservation campaign built on citizen participation to accelerate water conservation across the country.
• The scheme seeks to generate public awareness about water conservation and harvesting, which is crucial to ensure citizen participation.
• During the implementation of the scheme it has been observed that various stakeholders such as Government departments or agencies, NGOs, Panchayats, individuals have started taking steps towards water conservation, which is one of the achievements of JSA.

Practice Question

Q. Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is an intensive water conservation campaign built on citizen participation to accelerate water conservation across the country. Examine the objectives of the scheme. What steps can be taken by the government to make the scheme more effective?