QUESTION: Prepare a public statement from the Chief Minister’s Office giving information about various schemes/initiatives related to water conservation and water harvesting of the Government of Gujarat that justify the mantra “Water is Life”.

PUBLIC STATEMENT

Chief Minister’s Office

Government of Gujarat

“Save Water, Save Life”

At one time, Gujarat was known as a state facing water scarcity. Due to continuous droughts and rain-dependent agriculture, the condition of farmers worsened. The area under irrigation-based farming was very limited. In short, there was no proper irrigation system in the state. With the determination to change this situation and to make Gujarat a water-secure state, the Government of Gujarat has, from time to time, launched various schemes and initiatives related to water conservation and water preservation.

• Various schemes and initiatives of the Government of Gujarat related to water conservation and water preservation:

• Sujalam Sufalam Scheme: To solve the water and irrigation problems of 8 districts of North Gujarat, the Sujalam Sufalam Scheme has been implemented. Under this, activities such as irrigation through pipelines, construction of check dams, and deepening of lakes have helped increase water storage capacity and raise the groundwater level.

• SAUNI Scheme: Through the SAUNI scheme, along with strengthening the irrigation system of the Saurashtra districts, water storage capacity has also increased.

• Water Conservation Campaign: A campaign for water storage related to micro-irrigation. Under this, 6,40,853 farmers in Gujarat adopted micro irrigation systems (MIS) over a total area of 10,34,930 hectares.

• Reuse of Treated Waste Water: Gujarat was the first state in India to implement a policy for the reuse of treated waste water.

• Bhungroo: Under this program, excess rainwater is stored underground so that it can be used for irrigation during summer. In addition, farmers are also trained to install sub-surface storage systems and monitor water levels.

• Swajal Dhara: Under this program, collection tanks and storage tanks were constructed to increase water sources for villages.

• Interlinking of Rivers: Under this initiative, planning has been done to connect rivers such as Narmada–Tapi and Hiran–Guhai.

• In South Gujarat districts including Surat, Tapi, Dang, Valsad and Navsari, around 10,000 borewell recharge works have been completed, which has increased groundwater levels.

To make Gujarat a water-secure state and to secure the future of water, it is very necessary to adopt the mantra of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recharge and Recycle’, and public participation and cooperation are highly essential for this.

Ref. No:           Signature/-

Place:           Secretary

Date: (Chief Minister’s Office)