Jalyukt Shivar 100 per cent successful, says CM Fadnavis

Mumbai: Defending his government’s flagship water conservation programme, Jalyukt Shivar, the chief minister has repudiated the Opposition’s allegations that Jalyukta Shivar has “failed” in the wake of a drought-like situation gripping parts of the state.

The CM stressed that the scheme had been “100 per cent successful” and accused the Opposition of politicising the issue He also stated that the programme aimed at creating structures to store rainwater through harvesting instead of letting it percolate into the soil. Following the poor rainfall in the state (77 per cent of the annual average), ground water extraction had gone up by 27 per cent this season over the corresponding period last year, resulting in depleting level subsurface, he argued.

“And when you extract water, the ground water level is going to fall. It will replenish when it rains the next year,” he said, while interacting with a select group of journalists at his official residence, Varsha, late night Monday.

Mr Fadnavis observed that 179 talukas in the state received more poor rainfall than the monsoon of 2014.

Yet, 143 of them had better ground water level as compared to those in 2014, he said. He attributed the better levels in the talukas concerned to the implementation of the programme. “One doesn’t try to understand the science behind it... So, the issue is being merely politicised. The scheme is 100 per cent successful,” he said, without naming any party.

The chief minister said that the government, with public participation, had completed 5.57 lakh works worth Rs 7,692 crore.