Catch the Rain

National Water Mission’s (NWM) campaign “Catch The Rain” with the tagline “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” was launched in March 2021. Since then it has become an annual activity.

It aims to nudge the states and stake-holders to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata before monsoon.

Activities overview

Under this campaign, drives to make check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS etc; removal of encroachments and de-silting of tanks to increase their storage capacity; removal of obstructions in the channels which bring water to them from the catchment areas etc; repairs to step-wells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells to put water back to aquifers etc are to be taken up with the active participation of people.

To facilitate these activities, states have been requested to open “Rain Centers” in each district-- in Collectorates/Municipalities or Gram Panchayat offices. During this period, these Rain Centres will have a dedicated mobile phone number and will be manned by an engineer or a person well trained in RWHS. This centre act as a technical guidance centre to all in the district as to how to catch the rain, as it falls, where it falls.

Efforts are made so that all buildings in the district have rooftop RWHS and that maximum quantity of rain water falling in any compound be impounded within the compound itself. The basic aim should be that No or only limited will water to flow out of the compound. This will help in improving soil moisture and rasing ground water table. In urban areas it will reduce water gushing onto roads, damaging them and will prevent urban flooding.

Under the “Catch The Rain” initiative, all water bodies in the districts are to be enumerated, (checked with revenue records) and encroachments to be removed.

All District Collectors, heads of institutions like IIMs, IITs, Central Universities, Private Universities, Chairmen of Railways, Air Port Authority, PSUs; DGs of Central Armed Police Force etc having large tracts of lands with them have been requested to take steps to “Catch the Rain”.

Catch the Rain 2024

Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2024 with the theme "Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti" is being implemented from 09.03.2024 to 30.11.2024 emphasising the pivotal role played by women in the field of water conservation.

Five focused interventions, like in the previous years, include

• water conservation and rainwater harvesting;
• enumerating, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water conservation based on it;
• setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts;
• intensive afforestation; and
• awareness generation.

Apart from the five focused interventions, JSA: CTR 2024 will have a distinctive emphasis on following key aspects this year:

• de-silting and cleaning of water bodies;
• Revitalizing Abandoned/Defunct Borewells for groundwater recharge;
• Geo-tagging of water bodies, coupled with meticulous mapping and regular updates in the State's revenue records;
• Intensified afforestation efforts in the catchment areas surrounding water bodies;
• Snow harvesting in hilly area like stupas in Ladakh for conserving water; and
• Rejuvenation of Small Rivers. 

The updates on the campaign can be viewed at Catch the Rain webpage

Source : Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Related Resources

• Catch the Rain - IEC materials