New Delhi: Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched a national level mass outreach campaign, “Watershed Yatra,” in hybrid mode on Wednesday to generate public participation and create awareness about watershed development activities under the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY 2.0). Union ministers of state for rural development, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani and Kamlesh Paswan, were also present and addressed the gathering at the launch event. Ministers from state and union territory governments, senior officials, and those involved in implementing WDC-PMKSY attended in person in their respective states and launched the yatra simultaneously. Around 800 gram panchayats and more than one lakh people participated in the launch programme.
Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasised the importance of soil and water conservation for present and future needs and highlighted the role of community participation in the effective implementation of WDC-PMKSY projects. He urged people to participate wholeheartedly in the yatra to ensure its success. He also stated that the yatra will provide a platform for achieving a community-driven approach, energise field-level implementation, and highlight the importance of sustainable management of natural resources for improving agricultural productivity, livelihoods, and the environment. He mentioned that activities such as bhoomi poojan of new works, inauguration of completed projects, Watershed Mahotsav, Watershed ki Panchayat, and awards for watershed margdarshaks will help spread awareness of sustainable resource management.
At the launch event, Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the ‘Watershed - Janbhagidari Pratiyogita’ under WDC-PMKSY 2.0 for 2025 and 2026. He described it as a unique model based on the principles of community-led watershed management, incorporating a 'public-private-people partnership (4Ps)'. Under this initiative, works undertaken in project areas with government funding and public participation will be evaluated at the state level. Projects demonstrating excellent and remarkable work will receive an additional reward of ₹20 lakh per project. A total provision of ₹70.80 crore has been made for this initiative, benefiting 177 projects annually. Evaluations for this year's competition will take place in April.
The minister stated that the competition will not only accelerate departmental work but also encourage public participation in the construction and maintenance of water harvesting structures through shramdaan. The primary objective is to foster healthy competition, raise awareness, and promote public participation, ensuring that villagers continue to maintain and manage these structures in the future.
The Watershed Yatra will involve a van movement for around 60-90 days across 805 projects, covering 6,673 gram panchayats and 13,587 villages in 26 states and two union territories. As part of Watershed ki Panchayat, experts will deliver talks on sustainable soil and water management practices. Around 8,000 individuals who have contributed to WDC-PMKSY implementation in various project areas will be honoured to further motivate watershed communities.
The Department of Land Resources has developed a Learning Management System (LMS) on watershed development, hosted on its website and linked to the MY Bharat portal to engage youth. A certificate will be issued to participating youths to encourage them to take part in shramdaan activities.
A mega event for Watershed Yatra has been created on the MY Bharat portal to connect with and involve young people across the country. This will help mobilise youth volunteers for activities like shramdaan, strengthen community participation in watershed projects, and support the effective implementation of WDC-PMKSY 2.0. It will also help create a community cadre of watershed workers and leaders.
BI Bureau
