Why Atal Bhujal Yojana is in News?
The fourth meeting of the Atal Bhujal Yojana's National Level Steering Committee (NLSC) was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti. Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) is being implemented as a Central Sector Scheme since April 2020 in 8220 water-stressed Gram Panchayats of 229 administrative blocks/Talukas in 80 districts of seven States, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh for a five-year period (2020-25).
| Article and Schedule Quiz | Start Test! |
Atal Bhujal Yojana: Introduction
The Committee has reviewed the overall progress of the scheme and directed the States to expedite all the activities including procurement as well as convergence for the implementation of the interventions proposed under Water Security Plans (WSPs). The Committee noticed that COVID impeded scheme implementation over the first two years, and considering that community behavioural change takes time, it was concluded that the plan should be continued for another two years beyond the scheme's current time frame.
Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti
Launch Year: 2023
Implementing Body: Department of Water Resources
Atal Bhujal Yojana: Goals and Benefits
• Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Special Secretary, DoWR, emphasised the necessity of reviewing the quality of training delivered at the Gramme Panchayat level. She also requested that WSPs be incorporated into Gramme Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) in all participating states.
• This integration will provide sustainability to the approach followed by the scheme even after the completion of the time period.
• The Practice Manager of, the World Bank praised the scheme for bringing water use efficiency at the forefront and noted the progress made during the last three years.
• She emphasized the importance of community-led sustainable ground water management and lent her full support to the scheme.
• The meeting was attended by Senior Officers of 7 States where the scheme is being implemented as well as Line Departments, who are members of the Committee.
• The NLSC Meeting was followed by a workshop on Best Practises for Sustainable Ground Water Management, in which all seven states presented best practises on groundwater recharge, efficient water usage, new irrigation technology, data transparency, and so on. followed under Atal Bhujal Yojana in their respective State and how this scheme is bringing change in Ground Water Management with special focus on the promotion of demand side interventions.
• One of the key aspects of ATAL JAL is to bring in behavioral changes in the community, from the prevailing attitude of consumption to conservation & smart water management. Communities at the Gram panchayat level are being assisted in collecting water-related data and then preparing water budgets and Water Security Plans (WSPs).
