MUMBAI: The Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by

has quietly wound up former CM

’ ambitious Jalyukta Shivar project to rid

of drought in a time-bound manner.

A senior official confirmed to TOI that following directives of the government, the project ended on December 31, 2019. “The entire scheme has been wound up owing to limited success. As of now, there is no proposal to extend it. It appears to be a political decision,” he said. Water conservation secretary Eknath Davale, however, claimed a final decision will be taken at the government level.

Alarmed by a series of droughts, Fadnavis had in December 2014 launched an ambitious water conservation scheme in 34 districts across the state. “The aim was to make Maharashtra drought-free by 2019. The scheme provided for deepening and widening of streams, construction of cement and earthen dams, work on nullahs and digging of farm ponds. It was proposed to make 5,000 villages droughtfree every year and water empowerment for 25,000 villages across the state,” said the official.

Water conservation projects have been on in the state for years, but BJP made it high profile by tying up with NGOs like the one represented by actor Aamir Khan. Moreover, the party saw the project as a way to strengthen its base in drought-prone Marathwada, and implemented it in a big way in that district.

The project was launched with massive enthusiasm, but the official admitted that the results were not apparent. Several villages taken up on top priority witnessed unprecedented drought. “The project was good, but the implementation was poor. As a result, the target of making the villages droughtfree was not achieved,” he said. Villages that gained called the scheme a game changer, but critics raised issues like sustainability, the contractor-based model and even the lack of data gathering to show the utility of the scheme.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant welcomed the government decision. “There was rampant corruption in most of the villages. Funds meant for the scheme were utilised elsewhere. The then minister for water conservation had admitted to corruption in the scheme and had promised a probe by the anti-corruption bureau. Moreover, the state-run ground water and survey development agency had submitted a report, saying water levels in 31,000 villages had drastically gone down,” Sawant pointed out.

Even though the scheme has been retired, the assets created under it will be maintained by the water conservation department. “Assets created by individuals will be maintained by the beneficiaries, while assets created for the village will be maintained by the departments concerned. Twelve departments had come together for the scheme,” said another official.