Atal Bhujal Yojana - Stimulating the Condition of the Groundwater

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Atal Bhujal Yojana, popularly known as Atal Jal, is a groundwater management scheme. This scheme has been introduced by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Atal Bhujal Yojana was launched on the 95^th birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 2019^[1]. This yojana aims at improving groundwater management in the seven states of India.

The History behind the Atal Bhujal Yojana

Here are a few points comprising the history of this Yojana:-

The Atal Bhujal Yojana has been approved by the World Bank Board.
The scheme was launched on 25 December 2019.
It was approved in June 2018.
The scheme will be funded by the World Bank.
The Yojana was launched under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

States for Improvement

With the mutual consent and participation of the community, the following states have been chosen for the improvement of groundwater management:-

Maharashtra
Gujarat
Rajasthan
Haryana
Uttar Pradesh
Karnataka
Madhya Pradesh

Note: – The duration of this yojana is from 2020 to 2025.

Highlights of Atal Bhujal Yojana

Mentioned below are a few highlights of this scheme:-

For facilitating sustainable groundwater management, a central sector scheme with the name of Atal Bhujal Yojana has been launched with a total expense of INR 6000 crore.
Out of the total budget of ₹6,000 crores, ₹3,000 crores will be treated as a loan from the World Bank, and the remaining ₹3,000 crores will be a benefaction from the Government of India.
This yojana throws light on the demand side interventions and community participation for sustainable groundwater management in the picked-up water-scarce or drought-prone areas in the seven states of India.
The Atal Bhujal Yojana also anticipates a positive contribution to the governments’ goal of “doubling farmers’ income”, improved source sustainability for the Jal Jeevan Mission, and introducing and implanting the behavioral shifts in the community to expedite optimal water use.
The funds under this scheme shall be provided as grants-in-aid to the state.
A new lending instrument, Program for Results (PforR), where the funds allotted for the scheme will be dispensed from the World Bank to the government of India. The money will be disbursed amongst the stars based on their achievement of the pre-agreed results.
The Atal Bhujal Yojana has been absorbed in the 8353 water-stressed Gram Panchayats of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.

The characteristics and details of the areas identified for implementation of the scheme are mentioned in the below-given table:-

DETAILS OF AREA AND TENTATIVE FINANCIAL ALLOCATIONS
Serial Number	State	Districts	Blocks	GPs
1.	Maharashtra	13	35	1,339
2.	Gujarat	6	24	1,816
3.	Uttar Pradesh	10	26	550
4.	Rajasthan	17	22	876
5.	Haryana	13	36	1,895
6.	Madhya Pradesh	5	9	678
7.	Karnataka	14	41	1,199
	TOTAL	78	193	8,353

Components of the Atal Bhujal Yojana

The Atal Bhujal Yojana has two components as stated below:-

Institutional Strengthening & Capacity Building component–
- Allocated with a budget of ₹1,400 crores, this component is designated to work for strengthening the institutional arrangements for groundwater governance.
- It will be facilitated by- a scientific approach, strong database, and community participation in the groundwater sector in all the participating States. It will help in enabling the states to manage their resources sustainably.

Incentive Component–

This component is financed with a budget of ₹4,600 crores for stimulating the states for the achievement of pre-defined results with emphasis on the participation of the community, convergence between several on-going schemes of the State and Central Governments, demand management, and successive improvement in groundwater regime.

Disbursement Linked Indicators under Atal Bhujal Yojana

The five concerned identified Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) based on which the incentive amount will be disbursed as mentioned:-

Adoption of exercises for efficient water use (40% of incentive fund has been allocated).
Public disclosure of groundwater data & reports (10% of the incentive fund).
Public financing of interventions through the convergence of on-going schemes (20% of incentive fund).
Upliftment in the rate of decline of groundwater levels (15% of incentive fund).
Preparation of Community-led Water Security Plans (15% of incentive fund).

Note: – The states/areas showing better performance will be eligible for the additional fund.

On the occasion of the initiation of this yojana, our Prime Minister also announced a new project named “Atal Tunnel”.

This strategic tunnel will transform the fortunes of this region. It will assist in promoting tourism in the region. Striving to implement the vision of our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Atal Bhujal Yojana or the Atal Jal Yojana has been brought into existence.

Key Features of this Scheme

This yojana aims to resolve the deadly situation to deliver water to each household of the country by 2025.
Under this yojana, it has also been signified that the Jal Shakti Ministry has exempted the water out of the Compartmentalized Approach and has led stress on adopting a Comprehensive and Holistic Approach.
Prime Minister also added that the Jal Shakti Ministry would also work towards delivering piped water supply to every house. In addition to this, the Atal Jal Yojana will pay attention to the rest of the areas.
A provision has been made under this yojana and based on this provision, the gram panchayats, which will perform better, will be granted more funds.

Additional Information

As per the statement shared by our PM, “only three crores out of 18 crore rural households have access to piped water supply”. The government is targeting the delivery of clean drinking water to 15 crore homes till 2025.

Anticipated Results

The implementation of this scheme will result in the following:-

Institutional strengthening for improving the condition of the groundwater.
Based on the improved preparation and database preparation of community-led water security plans at the panchayat level, this scheme will result in naturalistic and improved water budgeting.
These stakeholders will give the reports of the area where they enhanced the groundwater based on- the exchange, storage, dissemination, and analysis.
Keeping a check on the capacity and networks of the stock-holder at different levels.
Well-structured execution of the water security plans.
In smoothening the effective and well-managed utilization of the allocated funds.
The systematic use of the easily accessible groundwater resources with emphasis on the demand side measures like- electricity feeder separation, micro-irrigation, and crop diversification.

Beneficiaries of the Atal Bhujal Yojana

This scheme will benefit the 8,350-gram panchayats in 78 districts in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Clean drinking water will be delivered to each household of the country within a period of 5 years (2021-2025).

Role of Aatmnirbhar Sena

Aatmnirbhar Sena is a strong-headed organization lead by individuals who take up, form, and implements the schemes introduced by the government to build an invincible self of backward class people. At Aatmnirbhar Sena, we promote government schemes for the development of the women, children, and economically backward sections of our country.

Outline

The Atal Bhujal Yojana is a scheme introduced on the 95th birth anniversary of our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This scheme targets the supply of clean drinking water in every household of the country. This yojana has been announced with a budget of 6,000 crores and focuses on cleaning the groundwater. The yojana is equally funded by the World Bank and the government of India. The scheme majorly focuses on developing the water-scarce areas in the seven states of the country.