New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): Days after the Union Government announced an award for Telangana's Mission Bhagiratha scheme, which provides purified potable drinking water through taps to every household, the Union Jal Sakthi Ministry on Saturday rejected the claims made by Telangana ministers T Harish Rao and Errabelli Dayakar Rao that the state government's flagship programme "Mission Bhagiratha" was the role model for the entire country and termed it "misleading".

New Delhi [India], August 4 (ANI): At the 17th 'Everything About Water' expo organised to strengthen cooperation between Israel and India in the water sector, the Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga and additional secretary under Ministry of Jal Shakti, GA Kumar said that India can learn a lot from Israel about water management and the best practices involved.

New Delhi Jan 26 PTI A tableau depicting how the Jal Jeevan Mission provides clean tap water to homes in Ladakh at an altitude of more than 13000 ft even in harsh winter months rolled down the Rajpath at the Republic Day parade on WednesdayThe tableau showed a proud droplet figure in front depicting the achievement of the Har Ghar Jal scheme and community ownership of village water supplyThe middle section showcased the joy of the community getting clean tap water in the comfort of their homes schools and anganwadisIt showed how trained local women conducted water quality tests by using Field Test KitsThe last section depicted the situation in winter -- when temperatures fall to minus 20 degrees Censius water sources get frozen supply lines become inoperative pipes burst and supply of materials is affected badly construction material is lifted and transported with the help of animals and helicopters The section also depicted the technical challenges involved in drawing water from frozen water sources PTI UZM GJS GJS MIN MIN

New Delhi [India], January 26 (ANI): The tableau of the Ministry of Jal Shakti at the Republic Day parade on Wednesday will depict the government's achievement of providing clean tap water to homes of people living in Ladakh at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet in harsh winters.

Himachal Pradesh and Haryana will ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on plans to revive river Saraswati. Under the MoU, a dam will be built at Adi Badri (Haryana) which would ensure round-the-year supply to the river channel. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh to Sign MoU on Plan to Revive Saraswati River About the MoU The MoU […]

New Delhi Dec 22 PTI 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 householdsTalking to PTI about how the year was for the Jal Shakti ministry he said all responsibilities given to it were fulfilledThe 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 saidThe 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 electricityShekhwat said 2021 was also very significant for the Jal Shakti ministry because a law was enacted relating to dam safetyThe 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 saidIn 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 damsIn 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 UttarakhandThe minister said the construction of Renukaji and Lakhwar dams would be critical for the national capitals water supply needs and would also lead to rebirth of the riverLike 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 saidSpeaking 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 mannerDrinking water supply has to reach every household that is our foremost aim he saidAccording to government data 86778991 households have been provided with tap water connections till now while 833704 connections have been provided to schools and 876664 in anganwadisWhile 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 connectionsThis 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 villageThe year 2021 also marked completion of several major projects on the Ganga main stem and tributaries such as the YamunaElaborating 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 governments various endeavors such as Ganga Quest Ganga Utsav and Ganga Mashal AbhiyanThe 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 PTIAs 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 flowIt 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 PTI UZM ZMN

New Delhi Dec 20 PTI Over 2000 people lost their lives due to cyclonic storms heavy rains floods and landslides during 2021-22 the government said on MondayAccording to data shared by the Jal Shakti Ministry in response to a question in Rajya Sabha Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of deaths at 489 followed by 162 each in Gujarat and Uttar PradeshA total of 2002 people lost their lives due to cyclonic storms heavy rains floods and landslides during 2021-22 the data statedResponding to another question Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said under the Namami Ganga Programme so far 357 projects have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 30780 crore Of these 178 projects have been completed and made operationalIn a written response Shekhawat said 157 sewerage infrastructure projects from among these have been taken up with a sanctioned cost of Rs 24249 crore for the creation and rehabilitation of 4952 million litres per day MLD of sewage treatment plant STP capacity and laying of 5212 km sewerage networkOut of these 74 projects have been completed resulting in creation and rehabilitation of 1092 MLD of STP capacity and laying of 3752 km sewerage network he said PTI UZM DIV DIV

New Delhi [India], November 1 (ANI): Urban water sanitation in India today faces several challenges as many people living in urban areas lack access to improved sanitation arrangements. Better water sanitation unquestionably contributes to environmental protection, through a reduction in pollution of waterways and groundwater, further helping to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change on drinking water.

Guwahati Sept 17 PTI Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday said the central government wanted to turn the North East into a growth hub Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision is to strengthen the Northeastern region by ensuring timely progress in projects being implemented by central ministries Shekhawat told reporters after visiting the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management NERIWALM in Tezpur Assam The governments perspective is to kickstart development in all the eight Northeast states and make it a growth hub to take the entire nation forward The Prime Minister has initiated the practice of reviewing the progress of schemes and projects in the region and so the Union Ministers visit frequently to review the work of their respective Ministries he said During the meeting at NERIWALM the work of all organisations under the Jal Shakti Ministry was reviewed Shekhawat was accompanied by the Assam Minister of Housing Urban Affairs and Irrigation Ashok Singhal to Tezpur an official release said here Shekhawat said that he had a marathon 12-hour meeting with the Ministers and stakeholders of all the eight States regarding water conservation and discussed the other concerns at length The Union Minister on Thursday chaired a one-day Conference of Public Health Engineering Department PHED Ministers of North-Eastern States on Jal Jeevan Mission JJM in Guwahati with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and PHED Ministers of these states The centre has allocated Rs 9800 crore as central grant for these states under Jal Jeevan Mission and this enhanced amount will provide tap water connections to households which in turn is expected to boost the development of the region the release added PTI DG JRC JRC

New Delhi Aug 31 PTI A government-constituted panel has short-listed six innovation and eight research and development proposals related to water supply that will now be considered for listing in the innovation portal of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation for states and union territories to implement The recommendations by the Technical Committee will help states and union territories to use these technologies depending on their requirement and suitability the Jal Shakti Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday Since August 2019 the ministry is implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission in partnership with states to make provision of tap water supply to every rural home of the country by 2024 Innovative technological solutions are required to realise the goal of the mission with speed and scale amidst the diverse challenges that are encountered it said To assist the implementation agencies the Technical Committee under the chairmanship of the Principal Scientific Advisor was constituted to identify new technologies and select high-end RD proposals for funding The committee has representatives from science-related departments of the Government of India IITs state governments NITI Aayog NGOs and UNICEF The committee was set up in October 2019 and has met four times so far It considered 114 innovative technologies and 84 RD proposals and has accepted 10 innovative technologies and two RD proposals for funding it said The fourth meeting of the Technical Committee was held on August 27 during which it considered six innovation proposals and eight RD proposals One of the RD proposals considered in the meeting was undertaking IoT-based monitoring of drinking water quantity and quality in rural drinking water systems in different parts of the country it said The proposal was presented by different CSIR labs coming together as partners The National Jal Jeevan Mission has two separate portals for recognition of innovations and funding RD proposals in drinking water and sanitation sector Companies technology service providers desirous of getting their innovation accepted by the committee can upload them in the innovation portal The innovative technologies approved are in the areas of decentralised and packaged sewage treatment treatment of grey water and black water using a combination of green plants and bacterial culture drinking water disinfection using auto-chlorination IoT-based electric vehicle for delivery of drinking water to households water quality measurement kits using photometry and IoT-based water quality monitoring and disinfection One of the RD proposals was developing an inexpensive hand-held user-friendly device to produce quality drinking water in an emergency such as a flood and which can be used to directly convert contaminated flood water into potable water PTI PR SMN SMN