INITIATIVES FOR WATER CONSERVATION IN INDIA

One of the most pressing issues affecting nations all over the world is a lack of water. When the civic bodies in Chennai declared “Day Zero” in 2019, the city ran out of water and all of its reservoirs dried up. This event made international headlines in 2019. According to a report released by the government think-tank NITI Aayog, 20 additional Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad, will run out of groundwater in the coming years if methods for water conservation are not implemented. Adopting universal water conservation strategies that households can replicate is the only way to avoid this dire situation. 

Every year since 1993, World Water Day (22 March) raises awareness and inspires action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis.  It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is a United Nations observance coordinated by UN-Water. The theme”accelerating the change to solve the water and sanitation crisis” is proposed in  by UN-Water. It is aligned with the annual publication of the UN World Water Development Report, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN Water.
To make mindfulness on the worldwide water emergency, World Water Day is seen on Walk 22 consistently. World Water Day 2023’s theme is “accelerating the change to solve the water and sanitation crisis,” highlighting the urgency of addressing the global water crisis.

India’s projects for conserving water The Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched in 2019 by the Indian government’s Ministry of Jal Shakti. It is a nationwide campaign to conserve water that aims to get citizens involved in grassroots water conservation efforts. The project to conserve water was launched in two phases, beginning on July 1, 2019, and ending on September 30, 2019, respectively.

The government launched the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: “on March 22, 2021, World Water Day: The song “Catch the Rain” CTR), whose slogan is “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls.” It covers both urban and rural areas of all Indian districts from the pre-monsoon to the monsoon, up until November 30, 2021.

Under the mission, the public authority centers around creation/upkeep of water preservation and water collecting structures, remodel of different customary water bodies tanks, reuse and re-energize of bore wells, watershed advancement and concentrated afforestation.

LIST OF THE INITIATIVES BY GOVERNMENT

1. Bharat Tap: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched Bharat Tap initiative. It isConducted under aegis of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT) and Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 (SBM). Its aim is to provide low-flow, sanitary-ware at scale, and thereby reduce water consumption at source considerably. It is estimated to save minimum 40% water, in turn result into energy saving.
2. Pey Jal Survekshan (PJS): Under Atal Mission for Revival and Metropolitan Change (AMRUT) 2.0, the Service of Lodging and Metropolitan Issues directed the PJS ground study. It is an instrument for AMRUT Mission’s acceleration and monitoring. Its objective is to motivate cities and Urban Local Bodies to engage in constructive competition.
3. Nirmal Jal Prayas: MoHUA launched ‘Nirmal Jal Prayas’, initiative of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) Mahi.  Its aim is to map ground water and save 500 crore litres of water per annum. Through the initiative, advocacy, awareness and amplification towards saving water will be disseminated and highlighted.
4. JALDOOT APP: It has been developed by: Ministry of Rural Development. its aim is to  identifythe ground water level in selected villages.  Gram Rojgar Sahayak (GRS) will measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (premonsoon and post-monsoon). The data collected could be utilised as part of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and Mahatma Gandhi NREGA planning exercises.
5. Swachh Sujal Pradesh: Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands have become India’s first Swachh Sujal Pradesh. Swachh Sujal Pradesh certification provided by Ministry of Jal Shakti, has 3 important components: 1.  Safe and secure drinking water supply and management. 2. ODF (open defecation free) Plus: ODF Sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM), and 3. Cross-cutting interventions like convergence, IEC (Information, Education Communication), action planning, etc. Under this program, all villages on A&N Islands have received Har Ghar Jal certification.
6. ARTH GANGA: During the “Yamuna Par Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebration, which was put on by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), a number of new initiatives were recently launched under the Arth Ganga concept. A notion advocated by the Prime Minister at the 2019 National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur, it focuses on creating opportunities for economic livelihood to support the government’s flagship program, the Namami Gange Programme, to clean Ganga and its tributaries. It aims to make approximately 3% of the Ganga Basin’s GDP contribution. It is supposed to bring in more than Rs. 1,000 crore in economic benefits over the next five years.

Conserving water: Why is it crucial?
On average, 140 liters of water are used each day. Serious water scarcity issues can result from widespread water shortages. There are many reasons why conserving water is important:

Because of the uneven distribution of water, a lot of India still lacks rainwater and groundwater.The majority of the population faces water scarcity as a result of this uneven distribution across the nation. In urban areas, the demand for water is greater than the supply. Additionally, conserving water will guarantee that clean water will be available to future generations. By ensuring that an ecosystem’s consumption of freshwater does not exceed its natural rate of renewal, this can be accomplished.

Water is required to irrigate crops in India due to the highly seasonal nature of rainfall. Water safeguards the biological system and natural life. Additionally, conserving water saves energy. That is, we can reduce water consumption and save energy by using energy- and water-efficient smart appliances. Energy is vital for channel, intensity and siphon water in families. The carbon footprint can be reduced by using less water. Water protection additionally saves funds. When a water meter is installed in your home, you will be able to use less water and pay less to the water supply company.

Wetland habitats for plants, wildlife, and aquatic life will be preserved and more water will remain in the environments as a result of reduced water consumption. During the dry seasons, it is especially crucial. The extraction of freshwater from the chunks of ice has expanded altogether as of late. The need for power supply generation based on water has also increased significantly, as has the demand for water.

Major Ongoing Water Projects in India:

• Recognising the water crisis in India, the government of India formed a single ministry i.e Ministry of Jal Shakti. Previously, water was a subject which was dealt with by almost nine Ministries.
• Jal Jeevan Mission
• Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)
• Namami Gange
• National River Linking Project (NRLP)
• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)
• National Hydrology Programme
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY)
• National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM)
• River Basin Management
• Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY)
• National Water Mission

India’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to conserve water are as follows:

The Indian government has implemented water conservation projects and taken a number of steps to conserve water. Additionally, charitable organizations are making significant contributions to India’s water conservation efforts. The following are a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been promoting sustainable water conservation methods:

Tarun Bharat Sangh is an environmental non-profit that uses indigenous water harvesting techniques and involves the community at every stage of development to achieve water conservation goals. The non-profit has restored ten rivers and transformed 10,000 square kilometers of drought-prone Rajasthan, one of India’s most water-deprived states.

SARA (Sustainable Alternatives for Rural Accord) led the “Swagrama” program and worked at various levels on the ground to comprehend and implement sustainable models. This project on water conservation is based on Mahatma Gandhi’s dream project, “Village Swaraj,” and it aims to develop rural areas that can sustain themselves on their own.

An organization dedicated to environmental preservation, the Environmentalist Foundation of India focuses on the scientific restoration of freshwater habitats like lakes and ponds and wildlife conservation. Some water protection projects embraced by the association remember the reclamation of the Kinhi-Gadegaon Repository for Maharashtra, Tirunelveli-Keezh Ambur Lake in Tamil Nadu and Navule Kere in Shivamogga, Karnataka.

The non-profit Jal Bhagirathi Foundation is leading efforts to address water scarcity in Rajasthan’s Marwar region, one of the world’s most densely populated arid regions. Rainwater harvesting structures to replenish groundwater are the primary focus of the non-governmental organization. It is also helping communities construct tankas or rainwater harvesting tanks.

Dreams Alive is a non-profit organization that has been assisting farmers in the delta region of Tamil Nadu by restoring ponds, which serve as the primary source of water for household use, irrigation, cattle, and other wildlife. It is additionally zeroing in on working on the occupation of ranchers, by expanding ground-water levels and tending to water lack.

Namami Gange Programme 

• Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as a ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
• It is operated by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The program is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organizations i.e State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
• NMCG is the implementation wing of National Ganga Council (set in 2016, which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority – NGRBA).
• It has a Rs. 20,000-crore, centrally-funded, non-lapsable corpus and consists of nearly 288 projects.
• The main pillars of the programme are:
  • Sewage Treatment Infrastructure
  • River-Front Development
  • River-Surface Cleaning
  • Biodiversity
  • Afforestation
  • Public Awareness
  • Industrial Effluent Monitoring
  • Ganga Gram