Raipur. Chhattisgarh has performed brilliantly across the country in water conservation, public participation and Catch the Rain campaign. Surajpur, Mahasamund, Balod, Balodabazar-Bhatapara and Kabirdham have been ranked among the top 10 districts of the country. Thousands of water structures have been built in the state for water conservation. In the departmental summit of the Jal Shakti Ministry held in New Delhi, Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai shared information about the innovations and public participation based efforts being made for water conservation in Chhattisgarh with the Prime Minister. In the Catch the Rain session of the conference, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw gave information about the work being done in the state regarding rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and conservation of drinking water sources.

Chief Minister Sai stated that water conservation in Chhattisgarh is not limited to government schemes or the construction of water structures, but rather has been transformed into a public campaign by involving farmers, village panchayats, Jal Sakhis, Jal Mitras, and local communities. He also made special mention of the 5% model, initiated in Korea district, in which farmers are voluntarily providing approximately 5% of their agricultural land for groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting. Under this initiative, structures are being constructed to allow rainwater to remain in the fields and slowly seep into the ground instead of flowing away. The Chief Minister stated that for farmers, water is directly linked to their crops, families, livelihoods, and future. Therefore, farmers and villages have been placed at the center of water conservation schemes in the state.

In the first phase of the Water Conservation Public Participation Campaign, JSJB 1.0, Chhattisgarh built 4,05,561 water structures, ranking it second in the country. In the second phase, JSJB 2.0, 2,470,456 water structures were registered, of which 2,370,768 have been completed. Now, in the third phase, JSJB 3.0, Chhattisgarh has secured first place in the country. In this phase, 79,775 water structures were registered, of which 77,719 have been completed. With geo-tagging, regular monitoring, and progress reviews, Jal Sakhis, Jal Mitra, farmers, and Panchayat representatives are taking this campaign forward from village to village. Under the Catch the Rain campaign, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge structures are being developed based on the state's geographical conditions. As a result, the number of water-stressed blocks has reduced from 26 to 19 and five critical blocks are expected to come into the normal category.