PM launches Atal Jal Yojana aimed at improving groundwater level

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged farmers to opt for less water intensive crops and irrigation methods that will help conserve water, as he launched the Atal Jal Yojana, aimed at improving groundwater level in seven states.

Speaking at the launch of the scheme, he said by forming the Jal Shakti Ministry, his government has tried to free the subject of water from a compartmentalised approach to a more comprehensive and holistic one.

Modi said the Atal Jal Yojana will help improve groundwater level in 78 districts, more than 8,300 villages in the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

He said agriculture in the country is largely based on irrigation carried out through the use of groundwater and using old-age techniques of irrigation also leads to wastage of water.

Crops like sugarcane, Modi said, need a lot of water and places where such crops are grown have noticed a depletion of groundwater table.

"To improve ...