Initiative to Validate Structures Before Launching Jalyukt Shivar Phase III
Mumbai, April 4 — The Maharashtra government has initiated a massive, on-the-spot inspection drive to verify the condition and utility of nearly 14 lakh water conservation structures across 34 districts, ahead of rolling out the third phase of its flagship Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyaan, officials confirmed on Friday.The primary aim of this large-scale verification is to prevent duplication of works across departments and to evaluate the efficacy of existing infrastructure created under various water conservation schemes.
Strategic Move to Prevent Duplication and Ensure Optimal Use
"This survey is essential to assess the results of earlier efforts and guide new projects to make the best use of available infrastructure," said Ganesh Patil, Secretary of the Soil and Water Conservation Department. The findings from the drive will directly inform the roadmap for Jalyukt Shivar Phase III, he added.Background: Jalyukt Shivar and Legacy of Conservation Work
Launched in 2014, the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyaan focuses on enhancing water availability for agriculture by implementing works such as stream deepening, building cement and earthen dams, restoring nullahs, and digging farm ponds.The Soil and Water Conservation Ministry, in coordination with the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC), Nagpur, has already geo-tagged nearly 14 lakh water conservation structures constructed between the drought of 1972 to 2022. These works include 39 different types of interventions like farm ponds, check dams, Kolhapur-type weirs, and nullah bunds.
The initiative will also incorporate structures built post-2022 into the centralised database.
Ground-Level Teams and Tech-Enabled Survey Tools
To ensure accuracy and transparency, the government has deployed dedicated village-level teams comprising agricultural assistants, junior engineers, forest guards, gram panchayat members, women's self-help groups, farmer producer organisations, and local residents. These teams are conducting physical inspections with the aid of a mobile application preloaded with satellite imagery of the sites.The app enables real-time guidance to each site and allows inspectors to upload photos and data about each structure’s status. The information being collected includes:
- Structure name and type
- Present condition
- Scheme under which it was built
- Year of execution
- Expenditure details
Resolving Overlaps and Ensuring Accountability
For over five decades, water conservation work in Maharashtra has spanned multiple departments, often without a centralised system to track progress or avoid redundancy. Officials stated that the current inspections will help:- Identify the responsible departments
- Confirm execution timelines
- Evaluate construction quality
- Detect and resolve any duplicate entries or irregularities
District-Wise Breakdown
Among the districts, Ahilyanagar leads with 1,24,678 recorded structures, followed by Pune, Nashik, and Satara, each registering over one lakh structures. Sindhudurg, on the other hand, reported the lowest number with just 56 water conservation works.The extensive audit not only aims to streamline future interventions but also reinforces the government's focus on sustainable and data-driven water management.