Under the implementation of Mission Amrit Sarovar, which was launched on April 24 to conserve water and provide employment to rural residents in the country, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest number of ponds constructed so far.
According to an official press statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh government, the state has witnessed the construction of 8,462 ponds which is followed by 1,668 ponds in Madhya Pradesh, 1,458 ponds in Jammu and Kashmir, 898 ponds in Rajasthan and 818 ponds in Tamil Nadu.
The Director of Rural Development Department GS Priyadarshi was quoted that on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as many as 15,497 ‘Amrit Sarovars’ were identified in different village panchayats of which 8,462 have already been developed, which is almost twice the total number of Amrit Sarovars developed collectively in Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
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“Uttar Pradesh is the only state in the country where the development work of Amrit Sarovar, is going on war footing. In all 120,000 Amrit Sarovars will be developed in the state, which is the highest in the country. In Lakhimpur Kheri, work on 256 Amrit Sarovars out of 315 has been completed whereas construction of 25 is underway. Similarly, construction of 244 out 312 Amrit Sarovars has been completed Gorakhpur while work is going on 18. Moreover, construction of 231 lakes out of 282 has been completed in Pratapgarh and work is underway on the rest,” the press statement informed.
On April 21, Gaon Connection reported that with the advent of handpumps and now piped water supply, ponds have been encroached upon by buildings, playgrounds or putrefying garbage dumps and with changing climates and increased water stress, protecting and reviving the village ponds has become imperative.
Ponds have always been integral to the rural landscape. However, the central government doesn’t maintain an official data on the number of ponds in the country.
The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti conducts a census and publishes its census report, which records the number of ponds/tanks that are used for minor irrigation activities across the country. But it misses out on a large number of village ponds that dot the hinterland and may or may not be used for irrigation purposes.
“Minor irrigation census does not count the number of water bodies in the country directly. However, data on water bodies is indirectly compiled from the census; but this information is limited to the number of water bodies in villages used for minor irrigation,” mentioned a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau on February 7, 2022.
