Objectives

• Increase water availability and production efficiency by planning and implementing water conservation activities on an integrated watershed basis.
• Create a new culture of water conservation/utilization across the population.
• Ensure water security and environmental security for future generations.
• Ensure upgrading, purification, utilization, and sustainable management of existing water resources.
• Ensure use of science and technology in water resources planning and monitoring.
• Identify the impacts of climate change and natural disasters on the water resources sector and ensure planning and implementation of countermeasures.
• Implementation of urban flooding Mitigation activities with people support.
• Ensure necessary trainings for grassroots implementation of soil-water conservation activities on watershed basis.
Prevent water pollution. Prevent rising of saline/brackish water.
• Strengthen room for river.
• Remove excess silt and sand from water sources.
• Carry out these activities with maximum participation of the people by making coordination possible with the help of various government departments and agencies under the leadership of local self-governing bodies.

Operational approach

• To maintain the ecological balance of Kerala, the general approach is to continue the practice adopted in the past by integrating watershed-based soil and water conservation activities into river-basis projects.
• Water security and environmental security are to be ensured for future generations. For this, water budget and water security plans should be prepared at the local self-government level. These activities should be organized under the leadership of local self-governing bodies with public participation.
• Block Panchayat Level Watershed Master Plans should be ensured everywhere to enable activities to be carried out on a watershed basis. Technical Committees at Local Self-Government level should take care to enable coordination and execution of the works involved in these. (With reference to the GO No.20/2017/water resource development dept dated 23.10.2017 For this, a single implementation plan should be made at the local self-government level, and central and state projects of the concerned departments and agencies should be integrated and implemented with this plan as much as possible.
• The potential of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme should be utilized to the maximum extent. Technical expertise of personnel from other departments should be available at necessary stages in the planning and execution of these works.
• The concerned Local Self-Government should ensure the cooperation of various departments like Agriculture and Tourism to ensure sustainable management of the rejuvenated water resources and keep them useful without further pollution.
• The potential of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme should be utilized to the maximum extent. Technical expertise of personnel from other departments should be available at necessary stages in the planning and execution of these works.
• The concerned Local Self-Government should ensure the cooperation of various departments like Agriculture and Tourism to ensure sustainable management of the regenerated water resources and keep them useful without re-pollution.
• Rainfall in Kerala is increasing due to climate change. System for drainage of excess water during monsoon season, channelization of rivers and restoration of water carrying capacity of rivers should be made possible at necessary places considering the spatial variability/availability. And we should ensure the kind of structures that enable water storage within the rivers.
• It should be possible to ensure water purity and remove the concern of people about the quality of water used.
• Water resource planning and monitoring should be done with the help of digital technology and formulation of schemes for obtaining central financial assistance in this sector. Technical support of Kerala State IT Mission should be utilized for this.

Activities

• Under the guidance of Local Self-Government level Technical Committees, the existing Integrated Watershed Plans will be brought up to date in a manner consistent with the activities of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. This activity will be conducted as a time-bound campaign under the supervision of local self-government bodies with maximum public participation.
• Water budget and water security plan will be prepared with the help of Technical Committees of Local Self-Government under the leadership of Local Self-Government Institutions with the participation of Technical Education Institutions, Research Institutions, etc. In the first phase it will be implemented in one Local Self-Government in a district and then in all Local Self-Governments.
• The area management, upgrading of ponds, recharging of wells, and upgrading of watercourses proposed in the watershed plans will be undertaken and implemented by various departments and agencies according to their potential, enabling coordination at the local government level. Departments for which budgetary allocations are available should include such projects in the green statement prescribed by the government. These should be added while preparing annual plans to the State Planning Board.   A system will be developed to record and evaluate the change in ground water level because of water conservation activities.
• To ensure sustainable management of rejuvenated water resources and keep them useful without further pollution wherever possible in collaboration with various departments like agriculture and tourism, including extension of organic farming, fish farming, farm tourism, local tourism, morning-evening walks, public spaces on adjacent publicly owned land, biodiversity parks, Pachathurut etc. will be implemented under the leadership of the concerned local self-government body with public participation.
• Assistive technologies will be utilized to increase irrigation efficiency. Linking agriculture and irrigation will enable assured irrigation.
• Kattakkada, Bavali and Manikal models implemented in different parts of Kerala will be implemented in other similar areas. The activities carried out by the local self-government bodies, which have implemented these activities, will provide the necessary platform to introduce other local self-government bodies.
• Measures to achieve water conservation and water use efficiency will be implemented through the public with the help of scientific and technological institutions.
• Necessary assistance will be provided from scientific and technological institutions working in this field to conduct studies on climate change and formulate necessary practical approach to mitigate its impact on the water sector.
• Facilitative activities will be organized to stabilize the flow of water in rivers and streams.
• Coasts will be protected by natural means.
• A flood defence works will be undertaken and implemented particularly in the case of raising brackish water.
• Water from man-made reservoirs like quarries will be tested for quality and used for recharging wells, ponds, streams etc., for the purpose of irrigation, drinking water etc.
• Water resource planning and monitoring using digital technology with the technical assistance of the Kerala State IT Mission and formulation of schemes for obtaining central financial assistance in this area. The potential of the Re-Build Kerala Initiative will be utilized in this activity.
• Organizing time-bound campaigns on the model of 'Ini Njanozhukatte' (‘Let me flow, now’) to rejuvenate the waterways and water streams to facilitate flow, increase carrying capacity and activate their network. Work to fully rejuvenate the streams network is underway. Along with this, marking on the 'mapathon' ensures that the network is complete.  In areas with high landslide potential, priority is given to rejuvenation of low-level channels and restoration of streams networks.
• Rejuvenation of water resources in their catchment area is in progress to control the monsoon flow in the watersheds and to ensure the flow in summer season.
• Water quality testing labs will be started more in rural areas to ensure water quality. For this, the local government bodies and departments will prepare a plan and if necessary, seek/opt financial support from other sources. The labs will be set up adjacent to the chemistry lab of a higher secondary school in a manner that one lab in one Local Self Government body area. The information from the software developed for this purpose will be made available to the health department and other departments by the concerned local self-government bodies.
• Bandhara type reservoirs which can be built on rivers and water streams, which do not lose the natural flow channels, enable water storage within the watercourses, and ensure controlled and sustainable ecological water flow, will be implemented in the areas where possible.
• 'Geo-referencing' of water resources to enable planning of central projects like 'Jalashakti Abhiyan' and 'Spatial Planning' of Ministry of Panchayatiraj by utilizing 'Mapathon' activity with the help of Kerala State IT Mission.