Implemented by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation it aims at tackling ever-deepening crisis of depleting groundwater level. It is designed as a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 6,000 Crore and is proposed to be implemented with World Bank assistance.
Scheme: The scheme is to be implemented over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, with World Bank assistance.
The objective of scheme is to recharge ground water and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes.
- It also focuses on revival of surface water bodies so that groundwater level can be increased, especially in the rural areas.
- The scheme is launched in 7 water-stressed states: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- These States represent about 25% of the total number of over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks in terms of ground water in India.
- They also cover two major types of groundwater systems found in India – alluvial and hard rock aquifers- and have varying degrees of institutional readiness and experience in groundwater management.