97% of waterbodies in Odisha concentrated in villages

The first-ever census of waterbodies identified a total of 182,000 waterbodies in Odisha, with an overwhelming 97.9% located in rural areas.

ByGround Report Desk05 Dec 2023

New Update

UN Report 2023: भारत में हर पांच में से एक हत्या की मूल वजह पानी!

In a significant revelation by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, the first-ever census of waterbodies has identified a total of 182,000 waterbodies in Odisha, with an overwhelming 97.9% located in rural areas. Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu, shared these findings in the Rajya Sabha, highlighting the predominance of smaller waterbodies in the state.

Advertisment

The census data indicates that 77.6% of these waterbodies have a water spread area of less than 0.5 hectares, while 11.6% span between 0.5 to 1 hectare. This distribution underscores the critical role of small waterbodies in the rural landscape of Odisha.

In a move to enhance water conservation and management, the central scheme Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Har Khet Ko Pani (PMKSY-HKKP) has taken up 1,390 waterbodies in Odisha for renovation. Out of these, 458 have been reported as complete, marking a step forward in the state’s efforts to improve its water infrastructure.

Water management is primarily the responsibility of state governments. However, the Government of India is providing substantial support through financial assistance for the repair, renovation, and restoration of eligible water bodies under the PMKSY-HKKP scheme. This scheme targets rural water bodies with a minimum water spread area of 2 hectares, with relaxed criteria for North Eastern, Sikkim, and hilly states, including the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

Advertisment

Listed water bodies are in rural areas

Sl No.	State	No. of Water Bodies Included for Rejuvenation (Since 2015)	No. of Water Bodies Whose Rejuvenation is Completed
1	Andhra Pradesh	232	0
2	Bihar	73	79
3	Gujarat	33	21
4	Madhya Pradesh	125	42
5	Manipur	3	0
6	Meghalaya	8	8
7	Odisha	1,390	458
8	Rajasthan	104	63
9	Tamil Nadu	545	243
10	Telangana	542	488
11	Uttar Pradesh	20	8
Total		3,075	1,410

The 1st census of water bodies conducted by Ministry of Jal Shakti has enumerated 1.82 lakh water bodies in the State of Odisha, out of which 97.9% are in rural areas. 77.6% of these water bodies have water spread area less than 0.5 hectare, while 11.6% have water spread area between 0.5 to 1.0 hectare

Advertisment

As mentioned above, a total of 1,390 number of water bodies from the State of Odisha have been taken up for renovation under PMKSY-HKKP, out of which 458 are reported to be complete.

waterbodies in Districtwise

S No.	District	Number of Water Bodies under PMKSY-HKKP
1	Angul	43
2	Balangir	81
3	Balasore	5
4	Bargarh	54
5	Boudh	63
6	Cuttack	33
7	Deogarh	28
8	Dhenkanal	113
9	Gajapatti	33
10	Ganjam	326
11	Jharsuguda	17
12	Kalahandi	78
13	Konjhar	51
14	Khurda	99
15	Koraput	23
16	Malkangiri	24
17	Mayurbhanj	10
18	Nabarangpur	21
19	Nayagarh	32
20	Naupada	27
21	Puri	41
22	Rayagada	39
23	Sambalpur	59
24	Subarnapur	36
25	Sundargarh	54
G Total		1,390