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”.