Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Sarovar’ in Amreli, Gujarat on August 28th. The 'Gujarat Gaurav Sarovar', spanning 21 acres with a capacity of 400 million liters, will aid in the availability of water for agriculture and drinking, as well as in groundwater conservation.
Water from the Narmada River is being stored in approximately 10,000 reservoirs across North and Central Gujarat, said the Union Minister
"If we conserve every drop of rainwater and raise groundwater levels, the country will never face a drought," Shah said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi established the Ministry of Jal Shakti at the Centre in May 2019 immediately after the general elections.
His efforts have led to a 160% increase in the irrigation capacity of dams across the country.
Under Modi ji's leadership, drip irrigation systems, sprinkler irrigation systems, and the 'Catch the Rain' campaign were implemented across the country to ensure that every single drop of water replenishes the soil. Water from the Narmada River is being stored in approximately 10,000 reservoirs across North and Central Gujarat
The number of reservoirs and check dams has increased, leading to improved agricultural yields and expanded greenery.
Here is the 'common man' - CM - the Chief Minister of Gujarat -- with his grand vision.
Mentored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his initial days of political career, in 2022, Bhupendra Patel developed a signature style of his own. His officials say he nurtures ambitious targets and unique dreams.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modiji has strategically combined the manpower in campaign to make Gujarat a water surplus state from a water deficit province," he says.
A huge target. Nevertheless, there are plans and sincerity of purpose to achieve that. The Gujarat planners know it pretty well that water is the centrepiece of development and hence 'water management' is a serious subject more so in a state which has the legacy of water deficiency.
The state of Gujarat is officially working toward becoming a 'water-surplus state' through major conservation and interlinking projects. But this is easier said than done. About 71% of its geographic area remains naturally water-deficit.
Only about 29% of the area in South and Central Gujarat has surplus water, while North Gujarat, Saurashtra, and Kutch face natural scarcity.
The Narmada Grid:
The Sardar Sarovar Project and extensive canal networks—such as the Narmada Main Canal and the Sujalam Sufalam Spreading Canal—transfer surplus water from southern rivers to arid northern and western regions.
A state-driven mega water conservation campaign focused on deepening lakes, checking dams, and widening rivers to capture rain water. Despite surface distribution networks, groundwater extraction remains high, with several units in North Gujarat categorized as over-exploited by the Central Ground Water Board.
The ground water level in the Gujarat has risen due to initiatives for water storage, dimensions like check dams, Boribandh, Narmada Canal Network and Sauni Yojana besides the Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan.
The fact of the matter is SSJA is a flagship water conservation and groundwater recharge campaign launched by the Government of Gujarat in 2018.
Keeping in view the principle of 'Per Drop More Crop' the state government had kept a provision of Rs 5339 crore for the Water Resources Division in the Budget 2022-23.
Of course the state is committed to provide clean drinking water to all the villages under Nal Se Jal Yojana.
Nearly 93 percent of the state is already connected by it.
In fact, Vadodara is now the sixth district in the state to get 100 percent Nal Se Jal after Botad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Porabdar districts.
The Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan is an immensely popular and successful initiative. This is water harvesting campaign and the first launched in 2018. This creates public awareness for the purpose of collecting rainwater.
Well, there are results too and the experience is worth sharing as these are quite encouraging. The ground water level in the state has risen due to initiatives for water storage, dimensions like check dams, Boribandh, Narmada Canal Network and Sauni Yojana besides the Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan.
Gujarat Chief Minister Patel once said: "Let us serve the nation by saving water and electricity. Through conscious use of water let us realise the dream of Atmanirbhar Gujarat and Atmanirbhar India. Let us make the earth prosperous by adopting Per Drop More Crop".
But in 2025-26 -- there were rather 'unexpected' challenges given the reputation of the state of Gujarat under BJP since mid-nineties.
The misappropriation of funds were reported and investigation was launched.
The alleged irregularities cost the state exchequer a staggeringly high
- Rs 204 crore.
The scams—Rs 71 crore in Dahod, Rs 7.3 crore in Bharuch and Rs 2.7 crore in Vadodara—reveal a near-identical pattern.
Fictitious or incomplete infrastructure projects were passed off as complete for construction contractors to claim the money, reported 'India Today' much to the embarrassment of the authorities.
In August 2025, it was claimed that -- The scam in Dahod surfaced in January when local villagers complained to district authorities. An FIR was filed in April after audits by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) confirmed inaccuracies.
The scandal hit local media when two sons of minister Bachubhai Khabad (MoS, panchayat and agriculture) were among the 11 people arrested. Balwant and Kiran were later released on bail.
The BJP said the arrests were a sign of its commitment to punish wrongdoers even if they were associated with a minister, but the political damage is likely to run deep.
The Congress legislative party leader, Amit Chavda, was at the forefront in exposing the scam and demanding action.
But in Bharuch, Congress vice-president and district leader Hira Jotva and son Digvijay were arrested on accusations of inflating material costs through their agency.
The Nal Se Jal scheme saw Rs 123.44 crore purloined from funds allocated for drinking water infra like pipelines, wells and tubewells in 620 villages between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2023.
The playbook was the same: forged bills, bogus documents, inflated costs, bypassed tender protocols, contracts to unauthorised agencies.
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