Atal Bhujal Yojana 2023

The Atal Bhujal Yojana 2023 initiative was started by the central government to conserve water. This plan will help numerous of the nation’s water bodies in their current state. In order to meet the needs of the agricultural sector, groundwater levels will be raised thanks to the Atal Bhujal Yojana. The central government has allocated Rs. 6,000 crore for the efficient completion of this substantial project. Over the course of five years, the Atal Bhujal Yojana will be implemented in specified regions of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Atal Bhujal Yojana 2023: What Is It?

With an investment of Rs. 6000 crores, the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) is a Central Sector Scheme for promoting sustainable groundwater management. Out of this, Rs. 3,000 crores will come through a loan from the World Bank and Rs. 3,000 crores from the Government of India (GoI) as matching funds.

Atal Bhoojal Yojana’s goals

The program places a strong emphasis on community involvement and demand-side solutions for sustainable groundwater management in parts of the country’s seven States that have been identified as having water stress. The plan also calls for increased source sustainability for the Jal Jeevan Mission, favorable support for the government’s initiative to “double farmers’ income,” and the adoption of cultural shifts to encourage efficient water use.

Atal Bhujal Yojana 2023 funding

Grants-in-aid are what the states will receive from the scheme’s funds. The World Bank will finance the project through a novel loan mechanism called Programme for Results (PforR), whereby money for the project is transferred from the World Bank to the Government of India for distribution to participating States based on the attainment of pre-established results.

The Atal Bhujal Yojana would raise the water table to give farmers access to pure, clean water for agricultural use. The government will see to it that water bodies are revived so that groundwater and Ganga River water are effectively supplied for agricultural requirements. The Atal Bhoojal Yojana is available to everyone in both urban and rural areas.

Implementation of Atal Bhujal Yojana

8353 Gramme Panchayats in water-stressed states like Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh are implementing the Atal Bhujal Yojana Atal Bhujal Scheme. The details of the region chosen for the scheme’s implementation are listed below.

State	Districts	Blocks	GPs
Gujarat	6	24	1,816
Haryana	13	36	1,895
Karnataka	14	41	1,199
Madhya Pradesh	5	9	678
Maharashtra	13	35	1,339
Rajasthan	17	22	876
Uttar Pradesh	10	26	550
Total	78	193	8353

Components of Atal Bhujal Yojana

Institutional Strengthening & Capacity Building Component of Atal Bhujal Yojana (Rs. 1,400 crores) for strengthening institutional arrangements for groundwater governance by facilitating a strong database, scientific approach, and community involvement in the groundwater sector in the participating States to enable them to sustainably manage their resources.
With an emphasis on community involvement, demand control, and convergence among several ongoing programs of the Central and State Governments, the Incentive Component (Rs. 4,600 crores) will incentivize the States for achieving pre-defined goals and subsequently improve the groundwater regime.

DLIs for the Incentive Amount: Disbursement Linked Indicators

Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs), on the basis on which the incentive amount will be distributed, have been identified. The five DLIs taken into account are:

Groundwater data, information, and reports should be made publicly available (10% of the incentive fund),
Water security plans created by communities (15 percent of incentive grant)
Convergence of ongoing programs for public financing of initiatives (20% of incentive fund)
adoption of water-saving techniques (40% of incentive cash)
Increase in the rate of groundwater level fall (15 percent of the incentive fund).
Better performing States and regions will be eligible for increased funding, and the incentive monies will be fungible.

Key Elements of the Atal Bhujal Yojana

The following are the key components and highlights of this plan:-

Need – Due to widespread tapping around the nation, groundwater levels have fallen to their lowest levels in recent years. The government has designed this program to protect the water bodies, which are a worry for the authorities.

Benefits: By implementing this plan, water bodies will be revitalized. In addition, groundwater levels will rise, particularly in rural regions.

Provisional Budget: The cabinet has now authorized the central government’s allocation of Rs. 6000 crore for this program. The national government will spend Rs. 3000 crore of the total budget, and the World Bank will fund the remaining Rs. 3000 crore.

This program was launched by the central government to raise the groundwater levels in various bodies of water around the nation. This plan will address the issues of obtaining enough water to meet the demand for water for agricultural use.