Jal Shakti Ministry conference: PM Modi says maximum work under MGNREGA should be done on water

Highlighting the importance of collaboration, Modi said water preservation cannot be achieved by the government's efforts alone and that the public, local communities and civil societies need to collaborate with the administration.

"The biggest perk of jan bhagiadari (people's participation) is that the public gains awareness of how much hard work and money is going into this initiative," Modi said.

Water conservation begins even at the panchayat level, Modi said, where the "Catch the Rain" initiative had started but needed more work to be deemed a success. Governments need to start planning and strategising well before the rains begin, he said.

We need to use technologies like geosensing and geomapping in the field of water conservation, Modi said. Jal Jeevan Mission has become a major development parameter to provide water to every household, he added.

The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has organised a national level conference bringing together key policy makers to discuss "ways to harness water resources for sustainable development"  in Bhopal from January 5-6.

Speaking at the conference, Modi said both the industry and agriculture sector in India need water. Within agriculture, natural farming should be heavily promoted to help conserve water. Over 70 lakh hectares of land were using micro irrigation through the "Per Drop More Crop" initiative, he said. It needs to be pushed further and other initiatives such as the use of pipelines instead of direct canals need to be considered, he added.

With a focus on a circular economy, Modi said reusing more rain water and conserving more fresh water will go ahead to benefit our own ecosystem. Treating and recycling water will boost our economy as it can helps generate income as well, he said.

As growth and urbanization accelerate, we too need to advance in our water and sewage treatment techniques, the prime minister added. He also urged the public to save India's waterbodies and rivers which are the most important feature of our water ecosystem. Local needs need to be mapped and initiatives must address those issues to be successful.

The primary objective of the two-day 'All India Annual State Ministers Conference on Water' is to gather inputs for the India@2047 and '5P' vision from the different stakeholders of the states and also to improve engagement and partnership with the states and to share the initiatives and schemes of the government, the ministry said in a statement.

While addressing the challenges of water security as part of the India@2047 plan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier proclaimed the '5P' mantra for sustainability, it said.

The '5P' stands for political will, public financing, partnerships, public participation and persuasion.

With an objective to enhance the insights of this conference, there will be one plenary session which will set the agenda of the conference with focus on Water Vision@2047.

The conference will have five thematic sessions viz water security in water deficit; water surplus and hilly regions; water use efficiency including reuse of waste water/ grey water; water governance; climate change resilient water infrastructure; and water quality.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will attend the conference. Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis will chair one of the important thematic sessions on water governance during the conference, the statement said.