Parliament Question: Revival of Traditional Lakes/Ponds/Reservoirs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1866 ANSWERED ON 11.12.2025 REVIVAL OF TRADITIONAL LAKES/PONDS/RESERVOIRS 1866. Ms. S JOTHIMANI: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) the steps being taken to identify and renovate large water bodies at the district level; (b) whether there is a structured survey or database to map water bodies in need of restoration and if so, the details thereof; (c) the details of the Government schemes or funding allocations for the revival of traditional lakes, ponds and reservoirs; (d) the manner in which the Government is coordinating with the State Governments and local bodies to implement water body restoration projects; (e) the way in which technology is being used to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of these renovation projects; (f) the best practices, both national and international, being adopted by the Government for effective long- term restoration of water bodies; and (g) whether there are any Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives or community participation programmes for water body restoration and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b) Water being a state subject, it is for the State Governments concerned to take up the renovation projects of the water bodies under their respective jurisdiction, as per their priorities and resource availability. Details in this regard are also to be maintained by the State Governments themselves. Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), States/UTs are empowered to select, appraise, priorities and implement the projects within the broad framework of Mission guidelines. Minor Irrigation (MI) Stat. Wing under the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR) implements the Centrally Sponsored "Irrigation Census" Scheme with 100% Central Assistance to States/UTs. The main objective of the Irrigation Census scheme is to build up a comprehensive and reliable database in the water resources sector for effective planning and policy making, especially for Minor Irrigation, Major and Medium irrigation, Water Bodies, and Springs. 1Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna- Har Khet Ko Pani (PMKSY-HKKP) state government may propose an individual or a cluster of community owned water bodies, including water conservation structure impounding water even for transient period, for various uses including irrigation, with sub-basin approach. All water bodies approved under PMKSY-HKKP to be given a unique code number. States will accordingly undertake census of these water bodies and get complete list of water bodies along with unique code in the first stage. Geo-tagging of each of the WBs included under the scheme is to be done and shared with Central Water Commission (CWC) Regional Office. (c) & (d) Details of the Government schemes and funding allocations for the revival of traditional lakes, ponds and reservoirs are as under; 1. Government of India is providing financial assistance to the State Governments under Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies (RRR of WBs) component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)-Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP). Up to 31st March 2025, central assistance (CA) amounting to Rs. 545.35 crore has been released to the states under the PMKSY-HKKP for restoration of water bodies. 2. Focused interventions under Jal Shakti Abhiyan taken up by the Government of India and the State Governments, inter alia, include renovation of traditional and other water bodies/ tanks, enumeration, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies, removal of encroachments of tanks/ lakes, and de-silting of tanks. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain (JSA:CTR) 2025 was launched with the theme “Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Jan Jagrukta ki Or” emphasizing deeper grassroots engagement inter sectoral convergence and innovative financing mechanism with special focus on 148 districts identified by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). Till 09.12.2025 more than 1.97 crore water related works have been taken up across the country under the JSA: CTR campaign and 712 Jal Shakti Kendra’s (JSKs) have been set up across the country. 3. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs implements Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) under which rejuvenation of water bodies and wells is one of the main components. Under AMRUT 2.0, 3031 water body rejuvenation projects worth Rs. 6270.51 crore have been approved so far. (e) Technology is being extensively adopted by the Government to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and long-term sustainability of water body renovation projects. Modern tools such as geo-tagging, GIS mapping, assignment of unique code numbers to each water body, making of inventory of all water bodies, preparation of scientific plans for water conservation etc. are being used to ensure effective long-term restoration of water bodies. (f) The Government has adopted several national and international best practices to ensure the effective and long-term restoration of water bodies. Restoration works follow scientifically established norms, 2including hydrological and structural assessment of water bodies, de-siltation based on sediment studies, catchment area treatment, strengthening of bunds and sluices, and integration of modern technologies such as Geo tagging, GIS mapping, base line survey etc. (g) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives and community participation programmes are being encouraged and supported by the Government of India for the restoration of water bodies. Community participation is an integral component of all restoration works centrally assisted under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – Har Khet Ko Pani (PMKSY-HKKP). Water User Associations (WUAs), Panchayati Raj Institutions, and local community groups are involved in planning, execution, and post- restoration management of water bodies. There is also a provision for involving Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the planning, implementation, and execution of the project, subject to the concurrence of the State Government. The AMRUT 2.0 Mission guidelines provides that 10% of funds allocated to million plus cities for projects including water body rejuvenation projects, can be taken up under PPP mode. The mission guidelines also promote community participation in water management. AMRUT Mitra Initiative has been launched under AMRUT 2.0 to actively involve woman self Help Groups (SHG) in water demand management, water quality testing and other water sectoral projects. ***** 3