Revival of small river in Fatehpur district shows the way
The
revival of a tributary of the Yamuna, Sasur Khaderi-2, led to
improvement in water table in Fatehpur district. After many decades,
many villagers have grown paddy crop
Buoyed by the success of revival of a dry rivulet in Fatehpur
district, the Uttar Pradesh government is planning to revive all dried
up streams of the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
The Uttar Pradesh government has directed the state's Department of
Rural Development to prepare plans for recharging dried tributaries,
streams and other water bodies under MGNREGS. The order was issued by
agriculture production commissioner Alok Ranjan to the rural development
department last month.
Ranjan says a number of districts are facing acute water crisis and
that many regions are already in the dark zone or on the verge of
becoming one. “The ambitious task of reviving small rivers and water
bodies can be achieved only through MGNREGS. The Sasur Khaderi-2 river
project of Fatehpur district has proved it and has inspired us,” adds
Ranjan.
This year, between February and July, a dried stream named Sasur
Khaderi-2, a tributary of the Yamuna river flowing through Teliyani
block of Fatehpur district, 150 km south of Lucknow, was revived under
MGNREGS. The 46 km-long stream originating in Thithoura lake was
encroached over time, resulting in its drying up. Its revival generated
205,000 person days of work and cost around Rs 4 crore.
The revival of the rivulet led to improvement in water table of the
region. After many decades, many villagers have grown paddy crop.
More projects like this could help the state improve its performance
under MGNREGS. In early October, the apex auditing body, the Comptroller
and Auditor General (CAG) had slammed the state government over poor
implementation of MGNREGS. In the report, CAG had pointed out that the
priority work prescribed as per scheme guidelines were not followed. It
said water conservation and water harvesting should have been given
priority instead of road connectivity. But the highest number of work in the state under MGNREGS were to improve rural connectivity.
Ranjan says the state MGNREGS commissioner would be the nodal officer for implementing the scheme to revive water bodies.
The state deputy commissioner of MGNREGS, Ranjan Kumar, says all the
district collectors of the state have been directed to chalk out plans
for reviving dried water bodies in their districts and start work on it.
“The Fatehpur district project has shown us the way,” says Kumar.
The Fatehpur project was successfully commissioned under supervision of then district collector Kanchan Verma.
The present collector of Fatehpur, Abhay Kumar, showed interest in
continuing with the initiative. “We are planning to revive other water
bodies in the district. We are preparing the plans in consultation with
neighbouring districts as a few rivulets and streams are shared with
them,” says the the collector.
The centrally sponsored MGNREGS guarantees 100 days of
wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household volunteering
for unskilled manual work.
