Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil on Sunday, 26 July 2026 lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for community-driven water conservation, responding to the PM's mention of the 'Catch the Rain' campaign during his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address. Paatil described the Prime Minister's message as a reminder that water conservation is not merely a government programme but a shared societal resolve.

Context

In his post, Minister Paatil quoted the spirit of the Prime Minister's address: 'Jal sanrakshan keval sarkar ka abhiyan nahin, balki samaj ka sajha sankalp hai' ('Water conservation is not just the government's campaign, but society's shared commitment'). He highlighted the inspiring role played by villages, panchayats, and social organisations across the country in conserving ponds, wells, and baolis (stepwells), harvesting rainwater, recharging groundwater, and reviving old water sources.

The post was accompanied by two images and carried hashtags #MannKiBaat, #CatchTheRain, #JalShakti, #JalSanrakshan, and #JanBhagidari, underscoring the government's framing of water security as a people's movement.

Policy Backdrop

The Ministry of Jal Shakti was created in May 2019 by merging the erstwhile Ministries of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with Drinking Water and Sanitation — consolidating India's water management functions under a single umbrella. That same year, the Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched across 256 water-stressed districts to promote conservation, rainwater harvesting, and the rejuvenation of traditional water bodies.

The Catch the Rain campaign, promoted from 2020 onward, institutionalised pre-monsoon water conservation activities with an explicit focus on panchayat and community involvement. Its core activities — revival of taalaabs (ponds), kuen (wells), and baolis — align directly with the themes Paatil highlighted in his post.

Stakeholders and Impact

Panchayats, rural communities, and civil society organisations are the primary actors in the Catch the Rain model. The Jan Bhagidari (people's participation) approach mirrors the community mobilisation strategy deployed in earlier flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat and Namami Gange, where local ownership was positioned as central to on-ground outcomes.

The emphasis on decentralised action comes against the backdrop of documented groundwater depletion and increasing monsoon variability across multiple Indian states. By situating conservation at the village and panchayat level, the government aims to reduce dependence on centralised infrastructure and embed water stewardship into local governance cycles.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to state-level progress reports on Catch the Rain activities and any fresh operational guidelines that the Jal Shakti Ministry may issue ahead of the next monsoon cycle. Minister Paatil's public endorsement of the PM's message signals that the ministry intends to keep community participation at the centre of its water conservation agenda, potentially reinforcing Jan Bhagidari as the organising principle for upcoming policy communications.