(a) whether the Government is aware that a large number of water bodies in the country have been encroached and diverted for use for other purposes;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise particularly in Maharashtra; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government for identification and conservation of such water bodies in a time bound manner?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) Works related to enumeration of water bodies, their protection from encroachment, or diversion for use for other purposes, comes under the purview of State Government concerned. However, from time to time, this Ministry conducts census of minor irrigation schemes in the country, which captures data regarding water bodies in rural areas associated with irrigation. As per the 5th Minor Irrigation Census conducted by this Ministry with reference year 2013-14, there are 5,16,303 water bodies in the rural areas of the country which are being used for minor irrigation, out of which 53,396 are not in use for various reasons such as non-availability of water, siltation, salinity etc.
(b) State-wise details of water bodies in the rural areas being used for minor irrigation, including Maharashtra, are placed at Annexure.
(c) Works related to water resources development & management are planned, funded, executed and maintained by the State Governments themselves, as per their own resources and priorities. The role of Government of India is limited to technical support and financial assistance under the existing schemes, as per the guidelines. For water bodies, a scheme titled Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies is being implemented by this Ministry, under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) – Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP).From XIIth Plan onwards, 2,219 water bodies costing Rs.1910 crore have been included under this scheme from various States, and central assistance of Rs.469.68 crore has been released. Out of these 2,219 water bodies, works in 1,465 water bodies have been reported to be completed.
Further, from time to time this Ministry has been sensitising the State Governments regarding the importance of water bodies for socio economic development and sustainable water security to the local population. Need for taking necessary steps for keeping all the water bodies encroachment free, such as inclusion of water bodies in land records and making them integral part of town planning process, strict action for the encroachers, etc. is also being emphasised to the State Governments by this Ministry, from time to time.
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ANNEXURE
Annexure referred to in reply to part (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1614 for reply on 11.2.2021 regarding “Encroachment of Water Bodies”.
S. No State No. of Water bodies (with Not-in use MI schemes) No. of Water bodies (with In-Use MI schemes) Total No. of Water bodies (with MI scheme)
1 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR 7 973 980
2 ANDHRA PRADESH 9038 32171 41209
3 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 12 55 67
4 ASSAM 144 2080 2224
5 BIHAR 150 2407 2557
6 CHANDIGARH 0 0 0
7 CHHATTISGARH 25 9272 9297
8 DELHI 0 0 0
9 GOA 5 735 740
10 GUJARAT 901 38432 39333
11 HARYANA 2 168 170
12 HIMACHAL PRADESH 11 1930 1941
13 JAMMU & KASHMIR 2 89 91
14 JHARKHAND 10235 37909 48144
15 KARNATAKA 1463 38281 39744
16 KERALA 131 10754 10885
17 MADHYA PRADESH 254 26259 26513
18 MAHARASHTRA 753 114235 114988
19 MANIPUR 1 23 24
20 MEGHALAYA 18 243 261
21 MIZORAM 11 356 367
22 NAGALAND 3 288 291
23 ODISHA 2512 33024 35536
24 PUDUCHERRY 2 193 195
25 PUNJAB 0 96 96
26 RAJASTHAN 445 11851 12296
27 SIKKIM 0 0 0
28 TAMIL NADU 3754 28354 32108
29 TELANGANA 17851 19163 37014
30 TRIPURA 0 17 17
31 UTTARAKHAND 3748 7544 11292
32 UTTAR PRADESH 961 7382 8343
33 WEST BENGAL 957 38623 39580
Total : 53396 462907 516303
Note 1:- Water bodies cover all natural or artificial units with some or no masonry work used for storing water for minor irrigation. These are usually of various types known by different names like tank, reservoir, pond.
Note 2:- In MI Census information is collected for villages/ rural areas only.
Note 3:- The above data pertains to only those Water Bodies where some minor irrigation scheme(s) (either in-use or not-in-use) is/are installed or those water bodies which function as surface flow schemes.
Note 4:- 5th Minor Irrigation Census not conducted in Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
Reasons for not in -use as minor irrigation schemes are non-availability of adequate power/fuel, mechanical breakdown, less discharge of water, storage not filled up fully, siltation of storage, salinity, dried up, destroyed beyond repair, due to sinking