Water Heritage Sites

About Water Heritage sites:

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti had constituted a Committee to identify 75 Water Heritage Structure (WHS) in reference to 75 years of India’s Independence.
• The Committee has recommended 75 water heritage structures, which include 5 Water Heritage structures from Gujarat and 4 Water Heritage structures from Andhra Pradesh respectively.
• In this connection, the “Jal-Itihas” sub-portal under the India-WRIS portal, showcasing the 75 WHS, was launched at the 1st All India State Ministers Conference on Water at Bhopal. 
• Jal Itihaas showcases some selected water heritage structures more than 100 years old.

What is the India-WRIS portal?

• It is a web-enabled Water Resources Information System popularly known as India-WRIS.
• It was initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), under the National Hydrology Project, launched the first version of the India Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) in July 2019.
• India WRIS is, at present, receiving data from many central and state agencies like CWC, CGWB, IMD, NRSC, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat etc. on regular basis.
• The MoJS has established a dedicated organization, National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) to maintain and update India WRIS.

What is National Hydrology Project?

• It aims to improve the extent, quality and accessibility of water resources information and to strengthen the capacity of targeted water resources management institutions in India.

Q1) What is the role of the central water commission?

The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for the purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development.

Source: Identification of 75 Water Heritage Sites

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