ITC, Karnataka govt join hands to execute Watershed Development Programme

Diversified conglomerate, ITC Minimal has entered into a partnership with the Federal government of Karnataka to execute a Watershed Advancement Programme masking about 1 million acres and 100 watersheds across the Condition.

The agreement involving ITC’s Social Investments programme, Mission Sunehra Kal, and the Karnataka Watershed Advancement Section, previously this thirty day period, will be in result for a few yrs. It is section of the State’s “Watershed Advancement for Drought Proofing” programme which aims at masking 1.sixteen-million acres of watershed area in 29 districts.

ITC will generate a consortium of experts to practice govt officials to utilize the company’s drought proofing framework for scheduling, implementation and checking of the programme, it explained in a push launch. The firm will fulfill the price tag of experts, training, potential developing and price addition for drought proofing whilst the govt will bear the price tag of the drought proofing actions.

Undertaking committee

A task management committee, with the Commissioner of the Watershed Advancement Section as Chairperson and ITC as Convenor, will oversee the performing of the task, the launch included.

ITC’s Integrated Watershed Advancement initiative cumulatively addresses about 1.1 million acres in 37 districts in 14 States. Approximately twenty,400 rainwater harvesting buildings have established opportunity freshwater storage potential of 3.sixty eight million kilolitres, which is about a few occasions the internet water eaten by ITC’s functions. To empower scaling up of its programmes, ITC has entered into 44 general public-private-men and women partnerships in watershed enhancement with different governments and NABARD. ITC’s interventions to advertise water use efficiency in agriculture has led to water savings of twenty-45 for each cent in crops this kind of as wheat, rice, sugarcane and banana.

Commenting on the partnership, Ashesh Ambasta, Government Vice-President & Head Social Investments, ITC Minimal explained: “For yrs, the firm has been at the forefront of water stewardship programmes in India and our attempts have been focussed on scaling up integrated watershed enhancement tasks across distinctive States. Our initiatives are aligned with govt missions like Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Far more-Crop-For every-Fall.”