Parliament Question: Funds under the various schemes of Jal Sakthi in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1052 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026 FUNDS UNDER THE VARIOUS SCHEMES OF JAL SAKTHI IN TAMIL NADU 1052 SHRI R. GIRIRAJAN: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) whether the Central Government has sanctioned any funds under the various schemes of Jal Sakthi, to rejuvenate water bodies and tanks to improve water storage, mitigate floods, enhance irrigation potential in the State of Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof, scheme-wise; (b) whether any funds are being allocated to the State to run network of water quality testing laboratory services and for the provision of Field Water Testing kit to ensure water safety to the public, if so, the details thereof; and (c) the funds allocated for the preparation of Groundwater Atlas, Ground Water recharge study besides R&D Activities in the State? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) to (c) ‘Water’ being a State subject, the aspects related to water resources including its conservation are studied, planned, funded and executed by the State Governments themselves as per their own resources and priorities. As reported by the State Government of Tamil Nadu, I. the Government of India has sanctioned funds for the Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies (RRR) scheme for Tamil Nadu under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with an objective of restoration of water bodies thereby increasing tank storage capacity, ground water recharge, Improvement to Irrigation potential thereby increasing the Agriculture/Horticulture to productivity and Improvements Supply channel. The details of funds sanctioned are given below: (Rs. in Crore) Phase and Year of sanction Total no. of tanks Central share sanctioned IV (2020-21) 83 27.81 V (2021-22) 9 2.50 VI (2021-22) 115 38.53 VII (2022-23) 85 43.76 VIII 2022-23) 100 43.20 IX (2022-23) 100 24.09 1II. under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP), Rs.9.0425 Cr. for the financial year 2021-22 and Rs.25.70 Cr. for the financial year 2022-23 was released for the Interlinking of Thambiraparani -Karumeniyar Nambiyar Project. III. under the National Hydrology Project, the following water quality equipments were procured- i. The Geochemical laboratory, Chennai is equipped with the State-of-the Art Water Quality Equipment like Atomic Absorption spectrometer (AAS), total Organic Carbon Analyser (TOC) and Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) at a cost of Rs. 1.77 Crore. ii. The Geochemical laboratory located at Chennai, Trichy, Madurai and Pollachi is fully equipped with new water quality measuring equipment at a cost of Rs.1.56 Crore. iii. Four mobile water quality labs have been procured at a cost of Rs.2.16 Crore to perform field tests. As reported, five flood management projects in the State of Tamil Nadu were included under the Flood Management Component of Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) Scheme of Union Government. All 5 projects have been completed by the State of Tamil Nadu which have provided protection to 3.195 Lakh Ha of land & benefitted a population of 20.17 Lakh. Total central assistance released to Tamil Nadu under FMBAP Scheme is Rs. 59.82 Crore. As reported, under the Jal Jeevan Mission, as per the Operational Guidelines, States/ UTs can utilize up to 2% of their annual allocation of funds for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S) activities, inter-alia, which includes setting up and strengthening of water quality testing laboratories, procurement of equipment, instruments, chemicals, glassware, consumables, hiring of skilled manpower, surveillance by community using field test kits (FTKs), awareness generation, educational programmes on water quality and accreditation/recognition of laboratories. Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) implements the Ground Water Management and Regulation (GWMR) scheme, under which activities related to exploration, monitoring, assessment, aquifer mapping and management of ground water resources are carried out across the country including the State of Tamil Nadu for sustainable management and improvement of groundwater levels nationwide. Under the GWMR scheme, funds are not allocated to the States, as the activities are directly implemented by CGWB. The budget is allocated to the regional offices of CGWB. The details of the funds allocated and expenditure incurred under GWMR scheme for the state of Tamil Nadu for past five financial years are given below: Financial Year Allocation (Rs in Cr) Expenditure (Rs in Cr) 2021-22 6.56 6.44 2022-23 9.18 8.23 2023-24 7.19 7.10 2024-25 17.42 17.23 2025-26 14.72 9.34(as on 31st December 2025) ***** 2