The World Bank has approved Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) worth Rs 6,000 crore. The central sector scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23 with the World Bank assistance.
The scheme proposal has already been recommended by the Expenditure Finance Committee and the ministry will be seeking Cabinet approval for the project shortly.
The Yojana has been formulated to address the criticality of groundwater resources in a major part of the country.
The scheme aims to improve groundwater management in priority areas in the country through community participation.
The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The implementation of the scheme is expected to benefit nearly 8,350 Gram Panchayats in 78 districts in these states. Funds under the scheme will be made available to the participating states as grants.
The government has allocated Rs 450 crore for this in the Budget for 2018-19.
The scheme will also focus on infrastructure development includes building recharge structure\facilities for utilising rain water, creating rain water harvesting structures for conserving surplus run-off and recharging groundwater in aquifers.