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• The Chief Minister of Bihar has launched the Har Ghar Gangajal project to provide Ganga water in Rajgir and Gaya.
  • Unplanned and indiscriminate use of groundwater has lowered the water table and affected the quality of the water.
• The government announced that every individual beneficiary will get 135 litres of water every day for drinking and domestic use.
  • Presently it will be limited to the urban areas of Rajgir, Gaya, and Bodhgaya.
  • Next year it will be expended to Nawada.
• The water would be lifted only during the monsoon session when the Ganga has excess water; therefore, the diversion of the river water will not lead to a disturbance in its natural flow or potential changes in its course.
• The excess water in the Ganga during the monsoon season will be treated, stored and piped to Rajgir, Gaya, and Bodhgaya regions.
• The Project is part of the Bihar government’s Jal, Jeevan, Hariyali scheme.
  • Under Jal, Jeevan, Hariyali scheme, the farmers of the state get subsidies from the state government to promote tree/ sapling plantation, construction of ponds, pokhras and irrigation of fields.
• Online filters are to be installed near the intake well to ensure silt-free water enters the pump and pipeline, and therefore no erosion in the riverbed.
• The scheme aims to;
  • Provide relief to the people, especially during the dry sessions.
  • Provide relief from the annual flooding of the Ganga.
  • Help to reduce the impact of flooding along the banks of the river.

Related Scheme: Har Ghar Jal scheme has been initiated by the Union Government in 2019 under Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tap water to every rural household by 2024.

Jal Jeevan Mission

• The Mission was launched on August 15, 2019.
• Implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti
• To provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections by 2024 to all rural households and public institutions; Gram Panchayat building, Primary Schools, Anganwadi centre, Health and wellness centres, etc.

• Features
• The Mission ensures community participation and also includes an Awareness, Education and Communication Campaign. 
• Development of water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
• Development of drinking water sources to ensure the long-term sustainability of the water supply system.
• Other features; Providing training, establishing water quality laboratories, Strict water quality testing and surveillance, Promoting Research work, starting a knowledge centre, a programme for capacity building of communities, etc.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan 

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign.
• It was launched in March 2021 with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”.
• It aims to create appropriate rainwater harvesting structures in urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country with people's active participation.
• During the campaign, officers, groundwater experts and scientists from the Government of India will work together with state and district officials in India’s most water-stressed districts for water conservation and water resource management.
• The JSA aims at making water conservation a Jan Andolan through asset creation and extensive communication.

Important Steps by the Government for water management 

• The government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including groundwater conditions in the water-stressed blocks in India.
• National Water Policy (2012) has been formulated by the Department of Water Resources for the conservation of rivers, river bodies and infrastructure in a scientifically planned manner through community participation. 
• Central Ground Water Authority has been constituted under the “Environment (Protection) Act, 1986” for regulation and control of groundwater development and management in the Country.
• Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater 2020 has been prepared in consultation with States/UTs.
• Construction of watershed management structure under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana promotes water conservation and management, water harvesting, soil and moisture conservation, groundwater recharge, flood protection, and land development.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana for sustainable management of groundwater with community participation is being taken up in the identified over-exploited and water-stressed areas in the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/bihar-har-ghar-gangajal-scheme-explained-8292243/

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