Water scarcity is a severe challenge in India, with nearly 600 million people facing extreme water stress. 

According to research, the average annual per capita water availability in India is projected to drop from 1486 cubic meters in 2021 to 1367 cubic meters by 2031. This indicates the country could face severe water stress in the coming decades.

To address this issue, the government has launched several schemes and initiatives like the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and more. These programs focus on water conservation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and promoting sustainable water usage. 

By safeguarding our water resources,  these initiatives aim to prevent overexploitation, reduce health risks, and secure a stable and reliable water supply for the future.

In this article, you’ll get to explore these government schemes in detail and how they contribute to water conservation in India.

Major Water Conservation Schemes By Government

1. Jal Jeevan Mission

Jal Jeevan’s mission aim is to provide quality and sufficient drinking water in every home in India by 2024. This will allow rural communities to use the water for a longer period at affordable charges.

Their objective is to provide-

• Functional tap connections (FHTCs) in every rural household and to government schools, health centres and other places. 
• To supply water in areas affected by quality, such as deserts, drought-prone villages, and others. 
• To develop in-village piped water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connections.  
• Implementing grey water management, water harvesting and water conservation practices. 

2. Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal)

Atal Jal’s main objective is to improve groundwater management, especially in water-stress areas like UP, Gujrat, Rajasthan, and others.

This scheme was launched on December 25, 2019, and will be implemented till 2025 for the states selected for groundwater management. The government’s primary focus is to manage the groundwater with the active involvement of local communities. 

A web portal and a mobile application monitor Atal Jal Yojna. This is the first scheme to use community planning, sharing, and monitoring of groundwater usage.

Atal Jal has a few prolonged strategy that are- 

• Decision support tool for groundwater management. 
• Strength community-based institutions to foster groundwater management. 
• Promoting activities such as water harvesting, recharge of aquifers, and water conservation techniques.
• Support efficient use of water through IoT technologies, sensor-based irrigation etc. 
• Improve planning and implementation of groundwater management by enhancing groundwater recharge.

3. Amrut 2.0

Atal’s mission of rejuvenation and urban transformation (AMRUT) has included the scheme AMRUT 2.0. This scheme, launched on 1 October, 2021, aims to provide a universal water supply with regular functional taps. 

It’s aimed at Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, which aims to secure the cities’ water and provide functional water tap connections to all households. 

The main components of AMRUT 2.0 are

• Universal coverage of water supply at all urban local bodies (ULB).  
• Ensure 100% coverage of sewage/ septage management in 500 AMRUT cities.
• Rejuvenation of water bodies and formation of green space. 

4. Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched in 2019 in 26 water-stressed districts of the country. 

Later, in 2021 the second series of this scheme came up with the theme ‘Catch the rain—where it falls when it falls’. Fast forward in 2024 Jal Shakti Abhiyan’s fifth series was implemented on March with the theme ‘Nari shakti se Jal shakti’.  

This highlights the important role of women in water conservation. 

In 2024, this scheme focuses on-

• De-silting and cleaning water bodies.
• Revitalizing Abandoned/Defunct Borewells for groundwater recharge and rejuvenating small rivers. 
• Geo-tagging water bodies coupled with meticulous mapping and regular updates.
• Snow harvesting in hilly areas to conserve water, like stupas in Ladakh.
• Setting up of Jal Shakti Kendra in all districts.

5. National Water Mission

The government of India launched the National Water Mission, the eighth national mission under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC), in April 2011. 

The main objective of this scheme is to conserve water, minimizing its wastage by ensuring quality distribution across and within the state. 

This scheme has five goals that are- 

• Increase water use efficiency by 20%
• Promotion of state action for water conservation, preservation and augmentation. 
• Focused attention to vulnerable areas that include exploited areas
• Impact of climate change assessment on water resources 
• Assessment of impact on climate change and promoting the basin level integrated water resources management.

6. Namami Gange

Namami Gange was launched by the Government of India in 2014 to stop sewage water from entering the Ganga River and ensure water quality. This program was issued under the National Mission for Clean Ganga. 

The Ganga River can host 40% of the country’s population, so this program was launched to maintain its avril dhara (continuous flow) and nirmal dhara (unpolluted flow). Since then, it has had a huge impact on the Ganga River, making it clean. 

Namami gange program’s main focuses are- 

• A sewage treatment plant and river surface skimmers will be set up to improve the quality of the Ganga River.
• Riverfront development will be done through the renovation and development of historic Ganga ghats.   
• River surface cleaning can be done by reducing the pollution load in the Ganga River. 
• It focuses on conserving and restoring the riverine ecosystem, including its biodiversity.

7. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana was launched in 2015-2016 to enhance physical access to farm water. 

The aim is to increase the adoption of precision irrigation, expand cultivable areas under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc.

It focuses on delivering water to the fields with the slogan “har khet k paani” and improving water use efficiency with ” More crop per drop.” 

Multiple components of PMKSY 

• Command area development and water management 
• Surface minor irrigation
• Repair, renovation and restoration of water bodies. 
• Development of watershed and groundwater sources.

8. Mission Amrit Sarovar (April 2022 to August 2023)

Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched on April 24, 2022, with the objective of conserving water resources for the future. As this mission is part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and involves the whole government’s participation approach. 

This mission focused on water conversation, people’s participation, and proper utilization of soil excavated from water bodies to promote intramural projects. 

Water from Amrit Sarovar can be used for various purposes, such as fisheries, irrigation, duckery, and cultivation of water chestnuts. 

The aim of the Amrit Sarovar scheme is- 

• To develop 75 ponds (Amrit Sarovar) in each district of the country, which will yield 50,000 Sarovar. 
• Every sarovar has an area of at least 1 acre and a water holding capacity of 10,000 cubic meters. 
• All the Amrit sarovar is surrounded by neem, pupil, or banyan trees.

Conclusion

With the rise in water demand and population, along with water wastage, there is a high chance that we will have no water resources available in the upcoming years. 

Government water conservation schemes are important not only in addressing water scarcity issues but also in securing water resources for the future. 

These schemes work on rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, and promoting sustainable water usage in every sector.

With the above-mentioned Government schemes, we can conserve water for a better future and prevent water scarcity.

Also Read More About: Public Water Conservation Campaigns