JSA team documents good practices in

Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) teams recently visited the districts of Ferozepur, Barnala, , Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot and in Punjab and recorded the best practices in water conservation, sewage treatment and afforestation that are worth emulating in other areas. They have also provided a glimpse of people’s participation under JSA and made a few recommendations for course correction. JSA team comprised of Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) – Charanjit Singh Channi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development; and Geeta Narayan, Joint Secretary, M/o Health and Family Welfare; Block Nodal Officers (BNOs) - N K C Thang; Alok Kumar Verma; Amod Tewari; Gurjeet Dhillon; Sachin Mittal; Deepika Lohia Aran; Dr. Ishita G. Tripathy; and Simerjit Kaur; Technical Officers (TOs) - B K Munzni, Scientist D; Dr D V Sarvade, Scientist D; Sambit Kumar Samantaray, Scientist C; Dr. Amardeep Singh; Dr Rajendra Prasad Pathak, Scientist C; and Dr. Manish Gupta. Best practices Ferozepur: The Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Ferozepur municipality has the capacity to clean 18 ML of sewage daily and it is expected to become operational from September, 2019. The treated water will be utilized for irrigation in region, where different types of cancers are seen in people due to excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. In Gill Village, a 3.5 acre pond was constructed in 2018 under MGNREGA for groundwater recharge and fish culture apart from beautification of the village. However, owing to high TDS (total dissolved solids) in water, an RO plant has been installed and maintained through Panchayat funds. The village community can avail filter water at the RO plant for Rs. 100/- per month. Barnala: Government of Punjab, Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, has made a policy that rain water harvesting should be made an integral part of any estimate of Rural Water Supply Scheme for government buildings such as District Administration Complex (DAC), Judicial Court Complex, schools, etc. Further, to control wastage of water, water meters are being used for every household connection. Fazilka: Thus far, as many as 2,54,400 saplings have been planted under JSA. However, certain challenges were observed such as the lack of spare land owing to 100% cropping pattern. The JSA team has suggested that saplings could be planted alongside drains, roads and within the premises of institutions like schools, Gurudwaras, etc. Awareness about the importance of trees is being done. The district also has a “Dial-a-Tree” Project under which tree saplings, manure etc. are made available via phone call through “Green Ambulances” and delivered at people’s doorsteps on demand. The trained personnel on the Green Ambulances also take care of existing trees and prevent them from dying by removing any hoarding or nails from their trunks or branches. Fatehgarh Sahib: As a pilot project, Seechewal Model of 3-well system for treatment of sullage water was constructed in village Badoshi Kalanasa. This has resulted in Siberian birds visiting the ponds during the months of December-January. At present the water in the pond is clean and foul free. Farmers use the water for irrigating their crops and vegetables; claiming that use of the treated water has increased production of crops and decreased consumption of fertilizers. Currently, such projects are under construction in 25 villages out of which construction of wells is nearing completion in 8 villages. The remaining projects are set to complete before 31 August 2019 and similar plans are in the pipeline for other villages. Faridkot: Grey water is first collected from various houses in a stabilization pond in the village. Solar pumps are then used to pump water to irrigate various fields. The village community has testified to the fact that water from this pond has resulted in better production. On the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev, Punjab Government has decided to plant 550 plants in every village. This has resulted in a lot of enthusiasm among the village community while facilitating removal of encroachments in public places for plantation purposes and better maintenance of the same. Amritsar: The Golden Temple has in place an effective treatment system for water in the pond surrounding the temple. Around 7-8 lakh litres of water is sent into the pond each day and the same is treated and re-circulated back into the pond. Further, around 4-5 lakh litres of waste water is generated daily from the kitchen and other premises of the temple area. This water is filtered and used to recharge ground water. The management has developed the ground water recharge system with a series of underground tanks, and filters are provided to remove any unwanted floating material. Recommendation for course correction Fazilka: The Block Agriculture Officer informed that it was very difficult to convince farmers about alternate cropping because they do not find alternate commercial crops such as maize, jawar, bajra or pulses comparable to rice. For conserving ground water in the water-stressed Fazilka District, a major impact can be made if financial and institutional arrangements and policy initiatives are spruced up to ensure that income levels of farmers are maintained in case they shift to varieties that can give more crop per drop. Although River flows by the district, its water cannot be used for recharging groundwater as it is polluted by the nearby tanneries including those from , given that the district shares its border with Pakistan. The possibility of cleaning the river water as an important source of water would be worth exploring. Amritsar: To ensure intensive afforestation, it is recommended that farmers plant saplings on at least 10 to 20% of their land mandatorily, if they want electricity connection to their lands. People’s Participation: Ferozepur: To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji, a drive has been initiated by the Punjab Government to plant 550 saplings in each panchayat. Deputy Commissioner has initiated a drive in which every aspirant of arms license has to plant and take care of 10 saplings. Fazilka: An environment festival was organized in Fazilka from 28th July to 4th August, 2019 to encourage the community to participate in plantation activity and protection of saplings with ‘Tree Guards.” Such environment festivals have been an annual feature since 2009 to encourage community participation in protecting the environment; and to spread awareness about the need to plant more trees across the city. This is certainly improving the green cover in the district. Krishi Vigyan Kendra Mela: Daily awareness and educational camps are being organized under JSA by the local Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Officers. Till date, around 1007 farmers, 157 women farmers, 203 household women and 1606 children have participated. Other activities: The district has also organized other activities and events to mobilize the maximum number of people. So far, 9330 people have participated in shramdan for afforestation; 2973 in 28 agricultural camps; 3292 in five poster, painting, essay and debate competitions; 2673 in nine public awareness meetings and discussions; 1158 in four rallies and route marches; 1020 in three dance, drama, kathputli and nukkad natak events; and 1162 in four other mass awareness programmes; making a total of 18,635 so far.