gets new ponds, recharge structures

Water conservation activities under Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) such as construction and restoration of ponds, recharge wells and afforestation are progressing in of . Participation of students from various educational institutions and professional colleges in water conservation awareness has accelerated the work, motivating Sarpanchs and other stakeholders to initiate such activities. This was reported by a team of central government officers who made three visits to nine blocks of the district (I visit - 14th to 16th July; II visit - 8th the 10th August and III visit - 12th to 14th September) over the past three months. The team visited the villages of - Hulasgarh, Gangdasspur Jatt, Pahupur Village, Pandauli, Nalhera Village, Mohra, Jehra in the blocks of , Nagal, , Sadhuli Kadeem, Sarsawa, Rampur Maniharin, , Muzaffarabad, and Nanuta. The team comprised – Central Nodal Officer - Mr. Satendra Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Block Nodal Officers - Shri Ramaswamy, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence; and Shri Satya Mohan Gupta, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence; and Technical Officers – Mr. Pardeep Kumar Thakur, Director, Central Water Commission; and Smt. Sumita Sarkar, Director, Central Ground Water Board. Background: According to Mr. Thakur, Saharanpur is the northernmost of UP districts, bordering the states of , Himachal Pradesh and . The district lies in the tract of land (doab) in between the rivers Ganga and , close to the foothills of the Shivalik range. The district is primarily an agricultural area, the main crops being paddy, sugarcane and wheat. The district is blessed with ample water resources with the canal network of Eastern Yamuna Canal and Khara Canal system supplying water, apart from annual rainfall of about 1200 mm. In the recent years, cultivation of commercial crops such as sugarcane has increased substantially in the agricultural district, other crops being mangoes, Maize, Jawar and oilseeds. The district is a leading regional centre for wholesale and retail trade of agro based industries and industrial products. While Limestone boulders are the main minerals found in the Shivalik hills, the district is home to industries of sugar, paper, cigarettes and wood carving. Findings: The district is water rich as it receives good rainfall and is covered by canal command. However the uncontrolled use of submersible pump fitted bore wells, and cultivation of water intensive crops such as Sugarcane, Paddy, Popular and Eucalyptus has lowered the groundwater table, the effects experienced particularly during the summer season. Hence the district needs ponds and recharge structures to recharge groundwater table. Progress on interventions: After discussions with the JSA team, the district administration made a District Water Conservation Plan, integrating the same with the District Irrigation Plan. This outlined the number of activities to be carried out under each of the interventions prescribed under JSA. During the second JSA visit, the team reported that 6 out of 17 water conservation and rainwater harvesting structures were completed; 4 out of 12 renovation of traditional water bodies or tanks were done; 2 out of 93 bore well recharge structures were initiated; 4 watershed development activities were completed and 1,25,000 saplings were planted to promote intensive afforestation. The district also organized five Krishi Vigyan Kendra Melas with the participation of 245 farmers; and prepared for organizing another 80 KVK Melas over the course of the year. Awareness building: Awareness about urgent need for water conservation was spread through meetings and rallies involving general public, particularly farmers and students. They were informed about practices to be followed for judicious use of water and conservation of water during the rainy season. Challenges: The rampant use of deep bore wells with submersible pumps needed to be curbed. People wasted a lot of water and operated submersible pumps for unnecessary activities. This needed to change, given that it is difficult to recharge waste water back to deep aquifers without properly designed soak pits.

Recommendations:

 More recharging structures should be constructed in the Shivalik foothill region to increase groundwater inflow to recharge zone  The practice of planting water guzzling trees such as Popular and Eucalyptus should be restricted  Farmers should be encouraged to cultivate crops other than sugarcane and paddy and incentives should be available for crop diversification  Ponds should be dug in available government land/common panchayat land in all villages to promote conservation and recharge of ground water  Use of Submersible Pumps should be restricted  Free or subsidized electricity should be curbed as it leads to wastage of both power and water

Best practices: The ponds in some villages allow for drainage and conservation of water. They protect low lying areas of the villages from possible waterlogging and at the same time increase recharge of ground water. This practice should be scaled up owing to its many benefits.