Over 1.41 lakh water conservation works completed under Catch the Rain 2026: Centre

Over 1.41 lakh water conservation works have been completed under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Catch the Rain 2026 initiative, with Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh accounting for nearly 1.25 lakh, the Centre told Rajya Sabha. Groundwater recharge has also improved significantly since 2017

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday said that more than 1.41 lakh works had been completed under the ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Catch the Rain 2026’ initiative as of August 6, with Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh accounting for 1.25 lakh works.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Raj Bhushan Choudhary, said that JSJB: CTR 2026 was launched on June 1, enhancing the scope of the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative and simultaneously integrating it with the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ (JSA: CTR) campaign. “The initiative emphasises Jan Bhagidari by involving local communities in the identification, execution and maintenance of water conservation works,” he said.

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According to the state-wise progress as of August 6, Rajasthan had completed 63,470 works and Chhattisgarh 61,450, followed by Himachal Pradesh (3,591), Punjab (2,933), Telangana (2,735), Gujarat (1,707) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,483).

The initiative leverages community funds, individual donations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and others for the construction of low-cost structures such as borewells, recharge shafts and recharge pits, using locally available material.

“The objective is to ensure that every drop of water is conserved through collective efforts, following a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach,” the reply said. The initiative is guided by the ‘3Cs principle community, CSR and cost’. JSJB 2.0 was launched in June 2025, with its implementation cycle commencing on June 1, 2025, and concluding on May 31, 2026.

It recorded 1.16 crore completed works, with Andhra Pradesh (31.09 lakh), Chhattisgarh (23.08 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (21.91 lakh) and Telangana (15.88 lakh) accounting for the maximum numbers.
JSJB 1.0 was launched in Surat, Gujarat, on September 6, 2024, and recorded 23.61 lakh completed works, according to the reply. The Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 2019 as a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign in 256 water-stressed districts.

In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched it as Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) with the message, ‘Catch the Rain: Where It Falls, When It Falls’. The government said that annual groundwater recharge increased from about 432 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2017 to 448.52 BCM in 2025, while the proportion of assessment units categorised as “safe” increased from 62.6 per cent to 73.14 per cent and “over-exploited” assessment units declined from 17.2 per cent to 10.8 per cent. Recharge attributable to tanks, ponds and other water-conservation structures increased from 13.98 BCM to 26.91 BCM during the same period, the reply said.