Launched as a flagship programme of the Maharashtra government, it initially created an impact in some parts of the state. But in a few years it turned out to be a failed scheme. The state government launched the project “Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyaan” in 2014 in a bid to make Maharashtra a drought-free state by 2019. The scheme targeted drought-prone areas by improving water conservation measures in order to make them more water sustainable. Under the scheme, decentralised water bodies were installed at various locations within villages to enhance the groundwater recharge. It also proposed to strengthen and rejuvenate water storage capacity and percolation of tanks and other sources of storage.
On paper the scheme was excellent, it took off well, but after sometime the much-hyped scheme started losing its impact and eventually it derailed. People from Vidarbha region overwhelmingly supported this scheme. Since 2014, hundreds of villages in Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra, and especially Vidarbha have experienced droughts for consecutive years. They saw some ray of hope with this scheme introduced by the then BJP government. However, various flaws in planning and implementation came to the fore and people started taking the backseat. Water tanker dependency in many parts remained as it is which had underscored the failure.
As the Congress party was dead against this scheme right from its inception. One of the first decisions the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government was to stay the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyaan, a water conservation scheme the previous government launched in 2014, and initiate an investigation into the irregularities in the scheme. The Congress, which was in the opposition when the scheme was launched, had charged the Devendra Fadnavis government with corruption in its implementation.
In addition to this the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its report submitted in September 2020 after examining the works in some of the villages, suggested further inquiry. On July 22, the four-member inquiry committee set up by the MVA government submitted its report. The committee recommended that 1,000 projects taken up under the scheme should be investigated by the State Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The scheme was to make 5,000 villages free of water scarcity. It also targets drought-prone areas by improving water conservation measures in order to make them more water sustainable. The vital part was to arrest maximum run-off water especially during the monsoon months in village areas known to receive less rainfall annually. Under the scheme, decentralised water bodies were installed at various locations within villages to enhance groundwater recharge. The work of this scheme gathered a lot of dust and became standstill giving the BJP a setback.
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