Ponds and Wells in Rural Areas in India

Ponds and Wells in Rural Areas

‘Water’ being a State subject, construction of wells and ponds in villages in various states is undertaken by concerned State agencies. However, Farm Ponds are being constructed by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation under various watershed development programmes namely; National Watershed Development Projects for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley Project (RVP) and Flood Prone River (FPR) as well as National Food Security Mission (NFSM) for harvesting rainwater which helps in recharging of ground water and providing life saving irrigation in the events of failure of monsoon and useful in mitigating adverse impact of drought. The Government had approved a State Sector scheme for Repair, Renovation and Restoration(RRR) of water bodies with two components (i) one with external assistance with an outlay of Rs 1500 crore and (ii) another with domestic support with an outlay of Rs 1250 crore for implementation during XI Five Year Plan period. A sum of Rs.839.390 crore has since been released under the scheme of RRR of water bodies with domestic support so far. ‘Water’ being a State subject, construction of ponds and wells are to be taken by concerned State agencies. However, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation implements the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) in which one of the components of NRDWP funds allocated to States is the Sustainability component which has an allocation of 10%, and is 100% Central Grant. Under this component, construction of village ponds, percolation tanks, and rural water harvesting structures can be carried out to ensure sustainability of drinking water sources. There is, however, no specific allocation to the States for carrying out these activities. This information was given by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. **** MA/VN (Release ID :87537)