About the Scheme

• Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal) is a Central Sector Scheme with focus on community participation and demand side interventions for sustainable groundwater management in identified water stressed areas of seven States in the country viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The scheme, partly funded by the World Bank, was launched in 2019 and is being implemented from 1.04.2020 for a period of 5 years.
• ABHY envisages sustainable groundwater management, mainly through convergence among various on-going schemes, with emphasis on demand side measures through active involvement of local communities and stakeholders.
• The scheme aims at increasing the capacity of States to manage their ground water resources and for ensuring their long-term sustainability with active participation of the local communities through a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Why in News?

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti has said that the Atal Bhujal Yojana is being implemented in 8,562 Gram Panchayats of 80 districts in 7 States, namely, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with an aim to improve community led sustainable groundwater management, mainly through convergence among various ongoing Central and State schemes.

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1843394