Bengaluru, October 8, 2025 — The Karnataka government is set to launch the ‘Neeriddare Nale’ (Water Day) initiative on October 9, aimed at enhancing groundwater recharge and promoting water conservation across the state.
The scheme will be officially inaugurated by Minor Irrigation Minister N. S. Boseraju in Bengaluru, with participation from district-level officials, gram panchayat representatives, and environmental experts.
Under the ‘Neeriddare Nale’ initiative, every gram panchayat will develop a Water Security Plan that includes:
- Groundwater Status Assessment: Categorizing areas as Critical (Red), Semi-Critical (Yellow), or Safe (Green) based on groundwater levels.
- Master Atlas of Groundwater: Creating a geospatial database of wells, aquifers, recharge structures, and water bodies.
- Localized Groundwater Action Plans: Recommending site-specific solutions such as constructing new recharge structures, installing rainwater harvesting systems, regulating extraction in critical zones, and adopting region-specific crop-water management strategies.
These plans will be presented and debated at a special ‘Neeriddare Nale Gram Sabha’ (Water Gram Sabha) held on World Water Day (March 22).
The government has also established a dedicated Project Management Unit (PMU) at the Groundwater Directorate to coordinate the ‘Water is Future’ campaign, which consolidates the state’s most impactful water conservation and management efforts under a single, strategic mission of sustainable water governance.
Minister Boseraju emphasized, “Groundwater is the invisible foundation of Karnataka’s future. We’re empowering gram panchayats and communities to take charge of their water security. Starting with the most stressed regions, this initiative will combine people’s participation with technology-driven monitoring to restore balance between extraction and recharge.”