What Happened
- The Fadnavis government has doubled down on Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan (JSA) 2.0 in the 2026–27 Maharashtra budget, pushing water conservation works across drought-prone and rainshadow villages ahead of a predicted dry season.
- JSA 2.0 focuses on comprehensive and effective water management in vulnerable districts, building on JSA 1.0 which spent over ₹9,731 crore completing 22,581 micro-watershed works.
- Despite the first phase, 73% of Maharashtra experienced drought-like conditions in 2024, indicating that structural water scarcity persists and requires a more targeted second phase.
- The Mahayuti government revived JSA 2.0 on 3 January 2023 after the MVA government had suspended it; the scheme is now in a third-phase planning stage according to CM Fadnavis.
- In just 75 days (March to mid-June 2024), Phase 2 works excavated and desilted over 23 lakh cubic metres of water storage (equivalent to 2.3 trillion litres), including 200+ km of nala desilting in Mauda, Nagpur.
Static Topic Bridges
Watershed Development and Micro-watershed Management in India
Watershed management is the integrated management of all resources — land, water, vegetation — within a drainage basin to optimise sustainable use. India's watershed programmes operate at the micro-watershed level (typically 500–1,000 hectares), creating check dams, percolation tanks, nala bunds, farm ponds, and contour trenches to recharge groundwater and increase in-situ water storage. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) — specifically its Watershed Development Component (formerly IWMP) — is the central framework; states run parallel programmes like JSA.
- PMKSY launched 2015; integrates AIBP, IWMP, and On-Farm Water Management
- Watershed Development Component: ₹50:50 Centre-State cost sharing for rainfed areas
- Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan: State-funded Maharashtra scheme, launched 2014–15 under CM Fadnavis
- JSA 1.0 target: 5,000 villages per year; make Maharashtra drought-free by 2019
- Implementing body: Maharashtra Water Conservation Corporation + Revenue, Agriculture, Forest, MGNREGS departments
Connection to this news: JSA 2.0 is a state-level deepening of the watershed management approach — its emphasis on micro-watershed works (nala deepening, check dams, desilting) directly implements the integrated watershed methodology that PMKSY promotes at the central level.
MGNREGS as a Water Conservation Tool
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), enacted under the MGNREGA 2005, guarantees 100 days of wage employment to rural households and mandates that at least 65% of its works be directed toward natural resource management (NRM), primarily water conservation and watershed development. Over the last five years, MGNREGS has spent approximately ₹14,000 crore on water conservation-related projects. JSA explicitly converges with MGNREGS to fund labour for nala desilting, farm pond construction, and check dam building.
- MGNREGA, 2005: Schedule I lists permissible works; water conservation tops the list
- Section 3: Entitlement of 100 days/household/year; 90:10 Central-State wage-material split
- NRM Works mandate: Minimum 60% works to be NRM/agriculture-related (revised from 50%)
- Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Launched July 2019 — a time-bound campaign across 256 districts, converging MGNREGS, PMKSY, and Rural Development funds for water conservation
Connection to this news: JSA 2.0's rapid mobilisation of labour for nala desilting and water body excavation in 75 days leverages MGNREGS as the primary manpower and funding channel, demonstrating the convergence model that national schemes encourage.
Rainshadow Areas and Drought Vulnerability in Maharashtra
Maharashtra's geography creates a persistent drought-prone region in its interior. The Western Ghats act as an orographic barrier — the windward (western) slopes receive heavy rainfall (2,000–6,000 mm annually) while the leeward (eastern) Marathwada and Vidarbha regions fall in the rainshadow zone, receiving only 400–700 mm annually. This structural rainfall deficit, compounded by erratic monsoons and overdependence on rainfed agriculture, makes these regions chronically vulnerable to drought.
- Drought-prone districts: Osmanabad, Latur, Beed, Aurangabad (Marathwada), Buldhana, Akola (Vidarbha)
- Maharashtra has the highest number of drought-prone talukas in India — 112 of 352 talukas classified as drought-prone
- Rainshadow effect: Created by Western Ghats (Sahyadri) blocking southwest monsoon moisture
- Crop dependence: Marathwada and Vidarbha rely on soybean, cotton — both water-intensive rainfed crops
Connection to this news: JSA 2.0 specifically targets "rainshadow areas" and perennially drought-prone districts — this geographic targeting reflects an understanding of the orographic and agro-climatic drivers of Maharashtra's water crisis.
Decentralised Water Governance — 73rd Amendment and Gram Sabha Role
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) empowers Gram Panchayats to manage natural resources including water bodies under Schedule XI (Entry 3 — Minor Irrigation, Water Management). Village-level water conservation through community participation — Gram Sabha decisions on water body management, allocation of MGNREGS works for water conservation — is a direct expression of this devolution. JSA's design is explicitly community-driven, with Gram Sabhas identifying works and monitoring execution.
- 73rd Amendment, 1992: Articles 243-243O; Schedule XI — 29 subjects devolved to Panchayats
- Schedule XI Entry 3: Minor irrigation and water management
- Entry 14: Land improvement, implementation of land reforms
- Maharashtra has implemented devolution through the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act
Connection to this news: The community-participation design of JSA 2.0 — Gram Sabha identification of local water bodies, local execution — embodies the 73rd Amendment's intent to make Panchayats real institutions of self-governance over natural resources.
Key Facts & Data
- JSA 1.0 expenditure: ₹9,731 crore; works completed: 22,581 micro-watershed works
- Maharashtra drought 2024: 73% of state faced drought-like conditions
- JSA 2.0 rapid phase (75 days): 23 lakh cubic metres of storage excavated/desilted (2.3 trillion litres)
- Nala desilting in Mauda, Nagpur: 200+ km cleared, benefitting 2,25,000+ villagers
- Maharashtra drought-prone talukas: 112 of 352
- Average annual rainfall in Marathwada: ~700 mm (vs. Mumbai's ~2,400 mm)
- JSA revival date: 3 January 2023 (under Mahayuti government)
- Budget push: 2026–27 Maharashtra budget reaffirmed JSA 2.0 as flagship scheme