Fadnavis asks officials to fast-track water conservation works amid El Niño concerns

Mumbai

In the wake of El Niño concerns, the Maharashtra government has directed officials to complete water conservation works on a war footing under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan 2.0 and prioritise measures to improve groundwater levels.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the functioning of the Soil and Water Conservation Department and directed officials to submit plans under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan 2.0 before May 15.

“The administration should consider the urgency of repair works in the villages and [they are] to be executed immediately. The work should be accelerated by giving revised plans to the districts, whereas the work in the villages under Jalyukt Shivar should be prioritised,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

He also referred to meetings with Union Ministers to secure increased funds under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.

According to the Soil and Water Conservation Department, 1,44,697 works have been approved under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan 2.0, of which 1,10,120 have been completed. The remaining works are in progress and are planned to be completed at the earliest.

During the meeting, Soil and Water Conservation Minister Sanjay Rathod, Secretary of the Soil and Water Conservation Department Jitendra Papalkar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr. Shrikar Pardeshi, Water Adviser to the Chief Minister Shriram Vedire, Officer on Special Duty Priya Khan, Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner Anjali Ramesh, and Maharashtra Water Conservation Corporation Managing Director Vijay Devraj were present.

Mr. Rathod said, “The work will now accelerate with our blueprint. The guidelines have also been prepared to ensure that the works are completed as per the original plan. However, permissions are required to remove encroachments at the Malgujari lakes.”

The work to conduct on-site verification of soil and water conservation projects is under way. So far, out of 15,15,000 works, 12,27,000 structures have been verified on-site. As many as 477.73 lakh cubic metres of silt have been removed from 1,435 reservoirs. As a result, water storage of 30,835 has been restored and 73,417 acres of land has become fertile.

Mr. Rathod said district-wise desilting work had been planned to be completed by June 15, according to the Soil and Water Conservation Department.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, 22,000 works have been completed and geo-tagged. Further, 57 Amrit Sarovars are being constructed under the watershed development component, and 31 of them are planned to be completed by June 15.

He also said that under the department’s five-year master plan, 1,21,583 works have been proposed across 27,942 micro-watersheds in the State.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the Centre’s Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-GRAM) scheme should be utilised for carrying out these works. It also said bamboo plantation should be considered along drains during nala deepening works to prevent silt accumulation.

The government has also directed officials to complete repair works of the Malgujari lakes in Vidarbha by June.