Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri C. R. Patil, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Dr. Raj Bhushan Choudhary, and senior officials of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti, called on the Vice-President of India, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, at Uprashtrapati Bhavan today.
During the meeting, the Vice-President was briefed on various initiatives and projects being undertaken by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The Vice-President appreciated the Department’s flagship initiative “Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB)”, launched to strengthen water conservation and groundwater recharge through a whole-of-society approach involving governments, communities, industries and civil society organisations.
He was informed that under JSJB 2.0, more than 1.55 crore water conservation and groundwater recharge structures have been reported, significantly surpassing the target. During the briefing, the Vice-President was also apprised of the progress of major river-linking projects, including the Ken-Betwa Link Project, Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal Link Project and the Godavari-Cauvery Link Project.
Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan underlined that inter-linking of rivers can play a transformative role in addressing water stress, mitigating droughts, expanding irrigation coverage and ensuring balanced regional development. The Vice-President suggested that major ongoing national water infrastructure projects such as the Ken-Betwa Link Project should be comprehensively documented through documentaries and archival records so that future generations may appreciate these historic nation-building efforts and feel proud of them.
Recalling his earlier padyatra in support of river interlinking, the Vice-President observed that availability of funds was not the primary challenge in implementing river-linking projects. He noted that mindset-related issues and political considerations often become obstacles, and stressed the need for visionary and cooperative approaches to water governance in the larger national interest.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri C. R. Patil and Minister of State for Jal Shakti Dr. Raj Bhushan Choudhary also invited the Vice-President to the India International Water Week scheduled to be organised in September 2026.