
National Water Mission’s (NWM) campaign “Catch The Rain” with the tagline “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” is to nudge the states and stake-holders to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata before monsoon.
Under this campaign, drives to make check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS etc; removal of encroachments and de-silting of tanks to increase their storage capacity; removal of obstructions in the channels which bring water to them from the catchment areas etc; repairs to step-wells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells to put water back to aquifers etc are to be taken up with the active participation of people.
To facilitate these activities, states have been requested to open “Rain Centers” in each district-- in Collectorates/Municipalities or GP offices. During this period, these Rain Centres will have a dedicated mobile phone number and will be manned by an engineer or a person well trained in RWHS. This centre act as a technical guidance centre to all in the district as to how to catch the rain, as it falls, where it falls.
Efforts should be made so that all buildings in the district should have rooftop RWHS and that maximum quantity of rain water falling in any compound should be impounded within the compound itself. The basic aim should be that No or only limited will water to flow out of the compound. This will help in improving soil moisture and rasing ground water table. In urban areas it will reduce water gushing onto roads, damaging them and will prevent urban flooding.
Under the “Catch The Rain” initiative, all water bodies in the districts are to be enumerated, (checked with revenue records) and encroachments to be removed.
All District Collectors, heads of institutions like IIMs, IITs, Central Universities, Private Universities, Chairmen of Railways, Air Port Authority, PSUs; DGs of Central Armed Police Force etc having large tracts of lands with them have been requested to take steps to “Catch the Rain”.
Information on the works being done under the “Catch The Rain campaign” may be sent to catchtherain[dot]nwm[at]gmail[dot]com / md[dot]nwm[at]gov[dot]in for compilation and sharing.
Logo of "Catch the rain" - Click here to download
Workshop on “Catch the Rain: Rain Water Harvesting and Artificial Recharge Structures for Water Conservation” on 13th March 2020
Meeting of the NGOs for sensitization and participation in the 'Catch the Rain' Campaign on 11th June 2020
Webinars on Catch the Rain - FICCI
Catch the Rain webex meeting on 24/07/2020 with DJB and other stakeholders in Delhi - Video | Minutes of the meeting
National Water Mission webinar session on "Catch the Rain: Dialogues with DMs
Catch The Rain - action taken by Organisations / Governments / Individuals
Rain Center at District level in various States / UTs
D.O. letters from NWM on the “Catch the Rain” Campaign
NYKS on “Jal Shakti Abhiyan II: Catch the Rain” campaign
IEC Materials for CatchtheRain
IEC Videos for CatchtheRain