2021 was 'historic' for Jal Shakti ministry, several long pending issues resolved

New Delhi, Dec 22: The year 2021 was "historic" for the Jal Shakti ministry as several landmark decisions were taken and many long pending issues were resolved, Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, noting that the focus next year would be to expedite the Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tap water connections to more rural households.

Talking to PTI about how the year was for the Jal Shakti ministry, he said all responsibilities given to it were fulfilled.

"The year has truly been historic for the ministry. The long pending issue of interlinkage of rivers was resolved. Agreement was also reached between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in this regard," he said.

The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh earlier this year signed an agreement that aims to tackle a long stalled multi-crore, controversial project to link the Ken and Betwa rivers and irrigate the water deficient Bundelkhand region (spread over both states) as well as provide electricity. Shekhwat said 2021 was also very significant for the Jal Shakti ministry because a law was enacted relating to dam safety.

"The Machchhu dam collapsed in 1979 and in 1982 a report was given on the matter. Now after all these years, a dam safety bill was passed which is very significant," he said. In the ongoing winter session, Parliament passed a bill that seeks to set up an institutional mechanism for the safety of specified dams in the country.

The bill provides for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of the specified dams for the prevention of dam failure-related disasters. It provides for an institutional mechanism to ensure a safe functioning of the dams.

In December, the government also extended the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), launched in 2015 under which 90 per cent grant has been given to three National Projects including Renukaji (Himachal Pradesh) and Lakhwar (Uttarakhand).

The minister said the construction of Renukaji and Lakhwar dams would be critical for the national capital's water supply needs and would also lead to "rebirth" of the river. "Like in Ganga, it has been notified that all the dam holding stakeholders have to discharge a particular quantum of water in non-monsoon months.

Similarly, we will make it mandatory that some amount of water has to flow in Yamuna too and when water will flow and if effluent treatment plants are working then fresh water and treated water both will improve yamuna water quality," he said.

Speaking about the vision for 2022, Shekhawat said the biggest target for the Jal Shakti ministry is to complete the ongoing projects in a time-bound manner.

"Drinking water supply has to reach every household, that is our foremost aim," he said. According to government data, 8,67,78,991 households have been provided with tap water connections till now while 8,33,704 connections have been provided to schools and 8,76,664 in anganwadis.

While 100 per cent households have been provided with tap water connection in Goa, Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Haryana, there are still five states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Rajasthan where less than 25 per cent households have tap water connections.

This year, the ministry also started water quality surveillance using field test kits under which five women from every village are trained in water quality surveillance using these kits to lead these activities in their village.

The year 2021 also marked completion of several major projects on the Ganga main stem and tributaries such as the Yamuna. Elaborating on the progress made under the National Mission for Clean Ganga in 2021, NMCG Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said the year 2021 witnessed a watershed moment for public participation with tremendous response received in government's various endeavors such as Ganga Quest, Ganga Utsav and Ganga Mashal Abhiyan.

"The success of Namami Gange is derived from its collaborative partnership. This year we launched a capacity building initiative with the Centre for Science and Environment for Making Ganga Basin Cities Water Sensitive. With TERI, we are launching the first of its kind Centre of Excellence on Water Reuse.

Last but not the least, we launched the historic River Cities Alliance with NIUA which is a unique platform for river cities to embark upon the path of river centric planning and programs. We also launched the Urban River Management Plan for Kanpur," Mishra told PTI.

As far as challenges that lie ahead in 2022, Mishra said there is a need to ensure the sustainability of the initiatives undertaken in the mission, expand activities along tributaries, further strengthen the people river connect and work extensively for improving ecology and flow.

"It is a continuous process, and the task is not only to clean but also to keep it clean and rejuvenated. Another key challenge would be record and manage the knowledge that has been created under the mission. All these would only be possible with collaborative partnerships which has been the mainstay of Namami Gange mission," he added.