Union Joint Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Central Nodal Officer for Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA)- Catch the Rain (CTR), Angshuman Dey, today virtually chaired a review meeting regarding implementation of the Abhiyan in Doda besides assessing impact and progress on the programme across the district.
Union Joint Secretary had detailed assessment of different vital aspects of the programme besides reviewing financial and physical progress achieved, so far, in the district. He appreciated the efforts of district administration and other stakeholders in effectively implementing the Jal Shakti Abhiyan in the district.
He emphasized wide publicity of the Abhiyan through IEC activities for maximum coverage of beneficiaries. He informed the he will be visiting the district in the last week of this month to discuss progress, bottlenecks and issues which need immediate attention of the government to make JSA a grand success.
District Development Commissioner, Doda, Vishesh Mahajan, made a detailed presentation on progress achieved during last year besides highlighting activities proposed for the current financial year. He also elaborately talked on the Water Conservation Plan 2023-24.
DDC apprised the Union Joint Secretary that 85 Amrit Sarovars have been established last year while one Amrit Sarovar has been proposed for every village of the district during the current financial year. He said that the district shall develop terrace type Amrit Sarovars keeping in view the sloppy topography.
He further informed that more than 10 lakh saplings were planted last year in an area of about 2869 acres. The district has restored 1021 water bodies through different agencies like RDD, IWMP, Jal Shakti, Horticulture, Agriculture, and Forest departments during the period. The district is expected to restore 792 water bodies this year besides geo-tagging of all the 492 water bodies of Doda.
The Jal Shakti Abhiyan is a flagship program of the Government of India aimed at ensuring water security and water conservation in the country. The program aims to create awareness about the importance of water conservation, promote water harvesting and improve the infrastructure for water storage and distribution.
The meeting assessed and discussed the impact of program on ground besides identifying challenges or issues that need to be addressed.The meeting was attended by Additional District Development Commissioner, Superintendent Engineer JSD, Chief Planning Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, Chief Education Officer, Divisional Forest Officers, Executive Engineers and other concerned officials.