The Chhattisgarh Government is reviving defunct check-dams across the State by repairing them in a bid to bolster its ongoing water conservation measures taken up across the State.

About 2, 600 new check dams had also been sanctioned and 679 check-dams had been constructed already. The excess water from the monsoons is being collected in this process. The water is being utilised for fish culture, officials informed.

Notably, over 1.24 lakh water augmentation works had been sanctioned under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) during the past 18 months (2015-2016) and till June 2016.

About 46,121 structures had already been constructed. This include  construction of canals, deepening of canals, private  construction of canals (dabri), construction of wells, check dams, Anicuts, canal lining, irrigation drains, soak pits and flood control structures.

The Panchayat and Rural Development Department officials said that efforts are being made to raise the water-table in the rural regions by constructing check-dams.

Sanction had been given to construct 62,509 'Dabris' (private canal construction) to store and conserve water in the fields itself.

About 26, 345 'dabris' had already been constructed. Small farmers are being benefitted. Farmers are growing fruits and vegetables in their fields and augmenting their incomes.

The Department officials said that several micro irrigation projects had been undertaken to increase the water-level in the entire State.

large-scale canal linings works are also being undertaken to save monsoon water and help the medium and small farmers.

About 13,237 works have been undertaken to harvest water in rural regions and State Government buildings and save monsoon water and hand-pumps' water.

Before the monsoons, 4087 soak-pits had been developed. The farmers are financed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA).

Notably, two districts of Chhattisgarh mainly Jashpur and Kanker have been included in Centre’s Neeranchal National Watershed Project Implementation Plan early this year.

Neeranchal supports Capacity Building, Planning, Innovation, Communication, Knowledge Management and M&E which will benefit the components of PMKSY across all States. Some components of the project will be demonstrated in selected sites of the partner States to be scaled up across the State in a phased manner.

As a Technical Assistance (TA) project, Neeranchal aims to strengthen the existing structures and systems without creating parallel ones. This would ensure effective integration of learnings and their upscaling within project States and at the Centre.

The focus of Neeranchal is on value addition through targetted capacity building, development and testing of new models, software and skills and piloting of new approaches and innovations through demonstrations at scale, creating awareness and knowledge networks including access to best practices, and addressing existing gaps in the system.

It shall ensure institutional and systemic strengthening for effective and efficient programme delivery. Thus in essence, Neeranchal is designed to add value to all aspects of the Watershed Component of PMKSY and cater to the specific requirements of the nine project States.

Specific software, models and systemic innovations such as for integrated planning, capacity building, IEC, M&E, financial management, etc. developed within Neeranchal could be applied to all States under PMKSY, officials stated.