Maharashtra: 128 villages selected for water conservation scheme in Latur district

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As many as 128 villages in Latur district of Maharashtra have been selected for implementation of the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan (JSA), a water conservation scheme of the state government, an official said on Thursday.

District collector Prithviraj BP has directed officials to hold special gram sabhas (local meetings) in the villages to be covered by the scheme and submit the draft of works to be carried out, by April 20.

He gave the direction at a meeting held at the collector's office on Wednesday.

The Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan will be carried out in 128 villages. Hence, special gram sabhas should be organised by the Zilla Parishad immediately to chalk out plans for implementation of the scheme, Prithviraj said at the meeting.

An online training programme for officials and employees involved in the scheme is being organised on Thursday and Friday (April 6 and 7) by the water conservation department, he said.

The Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS) will help in implementation of the scheme and for this, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed with the NGO at the state level.

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A separate agreement was signed on Wednesday between the Latur collector and BJS representatives for the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan in the central Maharashtra district.

At least 22 points have been finalized for execution for increasing the underground water level and overall water conservation in Latur district, said the collector.

The Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan (JSA) was the flagship water conservation project of the Devendra Fadnavis government (2014-19) which was discontinued when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition assumed office in November 2019.

The project was revived after the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government took office in June 2022 following the collapse of the MVA administration.

The scheme aims to make villages and hamlets drought-free by launching various conservation methods such as building canals, bunds and ponds, besides deepening and widening existing water bodies.

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