Catch the Rain

Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the year 2019 in 1,592 blocks out of 2,836 blocks in 256 water stressed districts of the country. JSA could not be taken up in 2020 due to Covid pandemic. A campaign “Catch The Rain” with the tag line “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” was implemented in 2020 to nudge the states and all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS). In 2021, “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA: CTR) with the theme “Catch the Rain – Where it Falls When it Falls” was launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister subsuming Catch the Rain (CTR) campaign to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country. JSA: CTR has become an annual feature since 2021. JSA: CTR 2023 with the theme “Source Sustainability for Drinking Water” was implemented across the country with special focus on 150 districts identified by Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) from 04.03.2023 to 30.11.2023.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2024 with the theme "Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti" will be implemented from 09.03.2024 to 30.11.2024 emphasising the pivotal role played by women in the field of water conservation. Five focused interventions, like in the previous years, include (i) water conservation and rainwater harvesting; (ii) enumerating, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water conservation based on it; (iii) setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts; (iv) intensive afforestation; and (v) awareness generation.

Apart from the five focused interventions, JSA: CTR 2024 will have a distinctive emphasis on following key aspects this year: (i) de-silting and cleaning of water bodies; (ii) Revitalizing Abandoned/Defunct Borewells for groundwater recharge; (iii) Geo-tagging of water bodies, coupled with meticulous mapping and regular updates in the State's revenue records; (iv) Intensified afforestation efforts in the catchment areas surrounding water bodies; (v) Snow harvesting in hilly area like stupas in Ladakh for conserving water; and (vi) Rejuvenation of Small Rivers.

Information on the works being done under the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign” may be sent to jsactr-nwm[at]gov[dot]in for compilation and sharing.