The nearly six-month-old Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government is set to launch JalYukta Shivar Abhiyan 2.0 - a major move to make the villages drought-free.
JalYukta Shivar Abhiyan or JSA is the flagship project of Fadnavis, which he launched as Chief Minister between 2014-19.
Under the scheme, 25,000 drought-prone villages and hamlets were selected to be made drought-free by launching various water conservation projects such as building canals, bunds and ponds, and deepening and widening of existing facilities.
However, when the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi came to power, the project ran into trouble and was mired with allegations and they did not pursue it.
The Comptroller and Auditor General report also made scathing observations about irregularities - after which a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was instituted.
On 30 June, when Shinde and Fadnavis took over as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, respectively, revival of the project was cleared in the first Cabinet meeting.
It may be mentioned, through JSA, 6.41 lakh works were completed in 22,586 villages between 2014 and 2019 and the total expenditure incurred was Rs 9633.75 crore.
“We have decided to launch Jalyuktshiwar Abhiyan 2.0. Villages in the state will be water-rich again,” Shinde said.
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