Uttar Pradesh State Water Policy 2020.

This Uttar Pradesh State Water Policy is a sectoral policy document. The Vision of the Uttar Pradesh State Water Policy, 2020 is to create a water secure, environmentally sustainable and climate resilient future for healthy life and socio-economic growth of all the people in the State. The overall objective of the State Water Policy is to ensure cohesive, participatory and inclusive water governance by mainstreaming Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and climate resilience into the Policy and institutional decision making processes on water governance.
To achieve the overall objective, the State Water Policy sets up the specific objectives. The specific objectives of the State Water Policy are to: (i) Recognize water as a basic need for life in all its forms and to provide for adequate quantity and quality of water for drinking and basic needs, livelihoods and ecology by making appropriate provisions. (ii) Protect and maintain the health of water ecosystems by scientifically determining pollution levels and flows to prevent their further degradation and to protect, conserve and restore water ecosystems to their natural state to the extent possible. (iii) Strengthen and institutionalize community-based water management, including the management of floods and droughts and towards this enhancing the capacity of water governance institutions and personnel through latest tools, technologies and appropriate training. (iv) Promote, incentivize, institutionalize and integrate Water Use Efficiency (WUE) in agriculture, urban, commercial and industrial use of water in the State. Towards this, encourage village level water budgeting, planning and sensitizing communities to adapt for the utilization of water as per local availability. (v) Promote and mainstream Basin/sub-basin level planning through enhanced inter-departmental coordination and synergies in the water sector programs and schemes by mainstreaming continuity, convergence and coherence using appropriate strategies. (vi) Maximize and augment water availability at the local level for meeting water needs, especially in water stressed and drought prone regions in the State. Inter-basin Transfers, keeping in view the environmental safeguards, to be considered from water surplus regions to water deficit regions for meeting the water needs of people.
In addition, the proposes: Rural water supply in the State would be strengthened in alignment with the JJM, a national flagship program aimed at providing 100% House Hold Tap Connections (HHTCs) to all rural households by 2024; Adaptation strategies to reduce the impacts of climate change on agriculture should include better demand side management and transformation in agricultural practices and cropping patterns with improved water utilization methods, and emphasis should be on climate vulnerable community participation in land-soil-water management with technical inputs from local, State and national agencies that have the requisite technical expertise; Land and Water management should be integrated in the planning and implementation of schemes and programs such as catchment area management, protection and preservation of water resources and land degradation; Groundwater Recharge should be implemented on an integrated mission mode targeting over-exploited/critical blocks in a time bound manner adopting a decentralized convergence mode; etc.