140,000 water bodies renovated in Bihar: Rural development minister

Shravan Kumar was speaking at the function organised here by the rural development department (RDD) to mark the launching of Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali mission and urged parents to plant a tree on their children’s birthdays

Rural development minister Shravan Kumar on Tuesday said that the state government has renovated over 1.40 lakh water bodies and created over 73,000 new water conservation structures across the state in the past six years.

140,000 water bodies renovated in Bihar: Rural development minister

The minister was speaking at the function organised here by the rural development department (RDD) to mark the launching of Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali mission. The mission was launched with a view to helping the state fight the challenges of climate change by chief minister Nitish Kumar in 2019.

Urging the people to contribute in combating climate change, the minister said that every family should plant at least one tree on festivals as well as on the birthdays of children and parents.

Recalling the start of the mission, Shravan Kumar said that CM Nitish Kumar had invited all parties and held detailed deliberations to tackle the issue of climate change in the state legislature. “All parties expressed their consensus on the implementation of the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Mission to tackle the problem of climate change. In this sequence, a human chain was formed in Bihar. In this, more than one crore people joined hands to send a message to the world that Bihar will play an important role in stopping climate change,” said the minister, adding that it was on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi when the mission was officially launched.

Under this campaign, countless works have been done in Bihar in six years to stop climate change. Several schemes were undertaken for the conservation, renovation and new construction of ponds, wells, pyne, pokhar, ahar, etc. “Additionally, more than 13,000 check dams and water conservation structures were built, and rainwater harvesting structures were constructed on more than 14,000 government buildings. In collaboration with the forest department, 21 crore saplings have been planted in the state. Today, the nurseries operated by Jeevika Didis are writing a new chapter in the mission’s success,” added the minister.

The minister said that several national awards have been received for the works done in Bihar to deal with the problem of climate change. “There is a need to have all the awards in one place so that visitors from outside can get an idea of the achievements here,” he said, adding that the check dams built in Bihar have now become a model for other states.

Principal secretary, RDD, Pankaj Kumar, said that the government is running many schemes. “Among them, Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali is the one scheme, which achieved 100% success. The original idea of the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali campaign is based on Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Swaraj. The country is grappling with the water crisis and water conservation is essential to combat the scenario,” said the principal secretary.

Pankaj Kumar said that dams, rivers, soak pits, etc., are proving effective in recharging the groundwater level. Under Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali mission, significant work has been done on 11 components in Bihar. This needs to be taken forward by the people of the country so that water conservation and nature protection can be managed scientifically.

The minister later honoured the Jeevika Didis, who played an important role in the success of the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali campaign, with certificates of appreciation.