The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the National Project for repair, renovation and restoration of water bodies directly linked to agriculture and also for incurring an expenditure of Rs. 225 crore as the share of the Central Government (being 75 per cent of the total scheme outlay of Rs. 300 crore) and Rs. 75 crore as the State share. The Scheme will help to restore and augment storage capacities of water bodies and to recover and extend their lost irrigation potential.
The period of duration for completion of the National Project will be approximately 7 to 10 years. The State Governments will implement the projects. The Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) prepared by States will spell out the graded monitoring mechanism for the scheme. The State Monitoring Committee may incorporate Central Water Commission (CWC) representative from the respective regional offices. Besides, the States will provide periodic evaluation of the projects as, specified in DPRs and also draw suitable lessons to take the scheme forward with better efficiency.
The Ministry of Water Resources will establish, through CWC and Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), a superimposed monitoring with appropriate frequency and extent, of the projects taken up in the States in a structured manner. At the Central level, the monitoring structure would include a combination of on-site examination of works and off-site analysis of States’ monitoring reports.
(Release ID :6768)