Nigadi village bags award for water conservation plan

Hubballi: Nigadi gram panchayat has bagged the Jal Sanjivani Puraskar for making the best action plan for water conservation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The development work is being carried out on 380 acres of land.
To increase the ground water level, various development works were carried out. The panchayat officials, including the technical engineer team, conducted research regarding ground water and other natural sources for the project. The rural development and panchayat raj departments selected this project, and the award was presented on March 24 in Bengaluru, during ‘MGNREGA Habba.’
Nigadi GP development officer Venkatesh Muragod told TOI that the Jal Sanjivani project at Nigadi village of Dharwad district will be implemented using remote sensing and Geographic Information System. Transect walk app and tool will be used for field work of the project. The programme was identified and implemented under MGNREGA on watershed-based ridge to valley concept using RS-GIS technology.
This project has been taken up to conserve environment, water and soil. “Water deficiency was found in the village after research. Earlier, the water budget was done according to the known ground water level, including other natural sources. Through this project, MGNREGA employment opportunities will be provided to villagers in large numbers. A detailed project plan was presented before officials and was accepted and our Panchayat bagged an award. The project, estimated to cost around Rs 2.5 crore, will be implemented in three years. It is going to be developed in association with the Horticulture department. It will be a model project in the state,” Venkatesh added.
Zilla panchayat CEO Suresh Itnal said: “We have taken up many development works in Nigadi Panchayat’s Jal Sanjivani work. Water conservation, soil and moisture conservation activities have been taken up. A team of rural development and panchayat raj department from Bengaluru has visited the site and selected the project under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNERGA), he added.
Gram panchayat president Nagappa Jodalli said that the village has 400 acres of gomala land. “The water and soil in the place is eroding. In order to stop this and conserve the land, our panchayat has decided to dedicate this place for Jal Sanjivani project, which in turn will benefit the village,” he added.