Pilot project for water bodies restoration to be extended all over

New Delhi, June 30 (UNI) Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz today expressed his intentions to expand the scope of National Pilot Project for reviving and restoring the water bodies on a bigger scale throughout the country from its limited coverage of 14 states.

Prof Soz has sought support for this ambitious project from the Finance Minister who had expressed his concerns about the water crisis in the country. He has also asked the states which have implemented the pilot project to give him the feedback to enable him to enlarge it at the natinoal level.

The scheme is presently implemented in the states of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme was sanctioned in 2005 to revive traditional water bodies, tanks, ponds and similar other sources for achieving sustained agriculture.

In his letter adddressed to Chief Ministers, Prof Soz urged them to expeditiously implement the National Project for Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies directly linked to agriculture sticking to the deadline of March 2007.

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