Punjab's Mission Amrit Sarovar, Lagging Behind in its Implementation

In Punjab, the Mission Amrit Sarovar is lagging behind in its implementation. The Mission was launched by Prime Minister  Narendra Modi in April last year with the aim to rejuvenate at least 75 water bodies in every district of the country. 

The target was to build 50 thousand Amrit Sarovar by the 15th of August. The national target is achieved but Punjab is among some States which still have to do a lot in this regard. 

The main aim of Mission Amrit Sarovar is to recharge the groundwater level. 

For Punjab, this Mission is quite important as the groundwater level is receding at a very fast pace in several parts of the state.

About Mission Amrit Sarovar

• Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched on 24th April 2022 with an objective to harvest and conserve water for future generations. 
• The Mission Amrit Sarovar works through the States and Districts with convergence from various ongoing schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 15th Finance Commission Grants, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayi Yojna sub schemes such as Watershed Development Component, Har Khet ko Pani, besides States’ own scheme. 
• Public contribution like crowd funding and Corporate Social Responsibility is also allowed for the work.
• The site of Amrit Sarovars will be approved by special Gram Sabha, which will also name Panchayat Partinidhi, who will on its behalf supervise  development of Amrit Sarovar.
• Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Application and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) has been engaged as Technical partner for the Mission.

NOTE: BISAG-N is an autonomous scientific society registered under the Societies Registration Act, of 1860. It comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

• Geospatial data and technology play a pivotal role in identifying and executing the construction and rejuvenation of Amrit Sarovar.