Question : Revival of Ancient Sources of Drinking Water

(a) whether the Government is contemplating any action plan to revive ancient sources of drinking water to address the acute shortage of drinking water;
(b) if so, the details of the ancient sources of drinking water likely to be included under the said scheme, State-wise;
(c) whether Ram Garh and Kalakh dam in Jaipur have been included under the said scheme; and
(d) if so, the time by which target to bring water to these dams has been proposed to be brought along with the name of the scheme under which it is to be carried out?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) to (d) Water is a State subject. Power to plan, design, approve, implement, operate and maintain water supply as well as water resources management schemes is vested with States, including Rajasthan. As such, details of individual projects, inter alia which includes source identification, selection for water supply schemes and revival of individual ancient water sources are not maintained by this Department.
Government of India supplement the efforts of the States by providing technical and financial assistance. Since August, 2019, Government of India in partnership with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM),to make provision of potable tap water supply to every rural household of the country, including those in Rajasthan, by 2024.
Under JJM, provisions have been made for drinking water source development/ strengthening/ augmentation; and infrastructure for bulk transfer of water, treatment and distribution systems in water deficit drought-prone and desert areas without dependable ground water sources, apart from creation of in-village water supply infrastructure.



To achieve drinking water security, every village has to prepare a 5-year Village Action Plan under Jal Jeevan Mission which inter alia includes augmentation and strengthening of drinking water sources to be taken up in convergence with other schemes at village level viz. MGNREGS, 15thFinance Commission tied grants to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs)/ PRIs, Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), State schemes, District Mineral Development Fund, CSR funds, community contribution, etc.
Further, important measures taken by the Central Government for conservation, management of ground water and effective implementation of rain water harvesting in the country are available in public domain at:
http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_Feb2021.pdf
Moreover, Government of India has recently launched the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), Phase-II and III. Under this Scheme, Ramgarh and Kalakh Sagar Dam of State of Rajasthan have been identified for rehabilitation under DRIP Phase II &III.
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