Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan

Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan to be Observed in Every District of Country Uma Bharti Holds Video Conference with the State Representatives

Hamara Jal – Hamara Jeewan initiative will be observed in every district of the country during India Water Week- 2015 (January 13 to 17, 2015). This was announced by Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvention Sushri Uma Bharti during video conference with the principal secretaries of water resources /irrigation of various States here today. She said this will be an initiative to engage scientists, engineers, water communities, PRIs, other stakeholders and NGOs to address the issues of water resources planning at the local level and to generate awareness regarding need for water conservation. Sushri Bharti said one day workshop will be organized in every district to find indigenous solution for meeting the water related demands and suggest future road map to manage water for growth. The Minister said, “Each district, as an administrative unit is proposed to be targeted for organizing the event which will be a part of the Central Sector IEC scheme for highlighting the importance and generating awareness about water conservation”. The Minister said participation from school students will be an integral part of the programme for sensitizing the next generation for water conservation. This will also spread awareness regarding need to conserve water in the light of growing water scarcity. During the workshop it is planned to prepare a profile of each district covering its source of water, utilization for various uses and constraint, possible local solutions for meeting the unsatisfied demands and future roadmap to manage water for growth. The States have been asked to submit a report in this regard after the workshop is over. The recommendations received during the deliberations of the workshop will also be used for preparation of an overview of State level recommendations. Such recommendations would enable Ministry to utilize the same for policy making. States water resources department will be overall in charge of implementing the programme. For organizing the event in each State, committees will be constituted at two levels. The State level organizing committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department or Engineer-in-Chief of the Water Resources Department wherein representatives at the level of Superintending Engineer / Director from the field organizations of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation like CWC, CGWB, NWDA etc. will be nominated as Member Secretaries to the Committee. The state level organizing committee will be responsible for overall organization of the events in the respective districts of the State. For organizing the event in each district, District level committee to be headed by Collector/DC/DM of the district will be constituted and other members of the committee may include subordinate officers of the districts like BDOs, municipal authorities (in case of urban/semi urban districts). Representatives from NGOs / WALMIS working in the districts may also be included as members of the District level organizing committee. An amount of Rs. 50,000 has been earmarked for organizing the event in each district by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The amount will be released to the nodal officers identified for the state. The amount will be spent by the representative of nodal officer or the district level committee which will be subsequently reimbursed by the nodal officer. State Water Resources Department have also been requested to mobilize additional funds available with them under their respective schemes