Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday, 26 July 2026, amplified Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for decentralised rainwater harvesting, sharing a key message from his Mann Ki Baat radio address urging citizens to conserve water wherever and whenever rain falls.

Context

Quoting Prime Minister Modi directly, CM Gupta highlighted the core message of the Catch The Rain campaign: 'Catch The Rain ka sandesh bahut seedha hai — jahan baarish gire, jab baarish gire, paani ko wahin sahejiye' ('The message of Catch The Rain is very simple — wherever rain falls, whenever rain falls, conserve water right there'). The post, tagged #MannKiBaat, signals the Delhi government's alignment with the Centre's water conservation push during the active monsoon season.

Mann Ki Baat is Prime Minister Modi's monthly radio programme through which he regularly addresses citizens on national priorities, including environmental stewardship and grassroots action.

Policy Backdrop

The Catch The Rain campaign, run under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, promotes rainwater harvesting at the local level as a direct counter to India's deepening groundwater crisis. Its guiding principle — capture rain at the source — is designed to reduce dependence on centralised water infrastructure and empower municipalities and households to act independently.

The campaign sits within a broader policy shift away from large dam-centric water management toward decentralised, community-driven conservation. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan, launched in 2019, and the Jal Jeevan Mission, also initiated in 2019, together form the backbone of this framework, combining aquifer recharge, restoration of traditional water bodies, and household tap connectivity with source sustainability measures.

Stakeholders and Impact

Delhi, a water-stressed capital heavily dependent on the Yamuna river and groundwater, faces recurring summer shortages and urban flooding during monsoon months — making it a particularly relevant setting for the Catch The Rain message. Urban local bodies in the city are mandated under building bye-laws to install rainwater harvesting structures in new constructions.

Delhi residents and resident welfare associations stand as the primary stakeholders, as the campaign's success depends on individual and community-level adoption. CM Gupta's amplification of the message through her official social media presence is intended to reinforce civic responsibility around water use during the monsoon window.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to state-level implementation: whether Delhi's urban local bodies issue fresh directives on rainwater harvesting compliance, and whether the Ministry of Jal Shakti releases updated progress reports on new harvesting structures built under the campaign. With the monsoon season at its peak in late July 2026, the coming weeks represent the most critical window for on-ground action. The convergence of central messaging and state-level endorsement from CM Gupta could translate into renewed enforcement of existing building bye-law mandates across Delhi.