Amrit Sarovar Mission

Amrit Sarovar Mission was launched on 24 April 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, in the 75th year of independence, with the aim of water conservation and water conservation and to overcome the water crisis in rural areas of the country.

• Around 90,531 sites have been identified for the construction of Amrit Sarovars by November 17, 2022.
• A target has been set to build 50,000 Amrit Sarovars by August 5, 2023.
• Mission Amrit Sarovar has been completed on August 15, 2023.

=> Amrit Sarovar Portal

Objective

• To promote water security and deal with various water related challenges.
• To increase the capacity of water conservation and rain water harvesting in villages.
• To raise the ground water level and encourage conservation of aquifers.
• To increase irrigation capacity and availability.
• To promote rain-fed agriculture.
• To improve water use efficiency.

Aim

• The mission aims to develop/revive 75 Amrit Sarovar (ponds) in each district of the country, taking the total to about 50,000 Amrit Sarovar in the country.

Ministries involved in Amrit Sarovar Mission

• The Mission is being implemented with a holistic approach of the Government, involving 8 Central Ministries/Departments-
  • Rural Development Department
  • Department of Land Resources
  • Drinking Water and Sanitation Department
  • Department of Water Resources
  • Ministry of Panchayati Raj
  • Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change
  • Ministry of Railways
  • Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways 
• Bhaskaracharya National Institute of Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) has been attached as the technical partner for the mission.

Joint implementation approach of Amrit Sarovar Mission with other schemes

• The Mission works in the States and Districts focusing on various schemes like Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, 15th Finance Commission Grants, sub-schemes of PMKSY like Watershed Development Component, Har Khet Ko Pani etc. apart from State’s own schemes.
• The Mission encourages mobilization of civil and non-governmental resources in these efforts.

Significance

• The construction of multi-purpose Amrit Sarovars will also strengthen the rural economy.
• Villagers will be able to enrich themselves by producing more food grains due to fish farming, Makhana cultivation and adequate irrigation system in the lake.

Click here to read this article in Hindi.