Why in news?
- The Haryana government has come out with a plan of rehabilitating over 16,400 Johads across the state
More information:
- The purpose is to analyse pond water to ascertain its suitability for irrigation and other uses.
- Analysis has been done by Haryana’s Pond and Waste Management Authority along with three departments (animal husbandry and dairying, irrigation and urban local bodies) of the state government.
- The rehabilitation process across the state is governed by the state’s “Pond and Waste Management Authority Act”.
- The government has created a Pond Data Management Software and has started generating a 21-digit unique identification number each for such a water body.
What are Johads?
- A johad is a community-owned rainwater storage wetland mainly used for harnessing water resources in the state of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh.
- They are also called sarovar, taal or khadin or dhora.
- It collects and stores water throughout the year, to be used for the purpose of recharging the groundwater in the nearby water wells and using it when there is no rainfall.
