Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai showcased the state’s community-driven rainwater harvesting model before Prime Minister Narendra Modi, logging 77,719 completed structures in JSJB 3.0.

NEW DELHI, Sept 2 — Chhattisgarh has clinched the top spot in India for rainwater conservation, ranking first in the third phase of the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s ‘Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari’ (JSJB) campaign. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai presented the state’s grassroots groundwater model before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil at a national summit in Sushma Swaraj Bhawan on Wednesday. The state’s community-led framework didn’t just top the national tally; it placed five Chhattisgarh districts—Surajpur, Mahasamund, Balod, Balodabazar-Bhatapara, and Kabirdham—directly into India’s top 10 rankings for water conservation.

The state’s rise to the summit represents a steady climb across consecutive campaign cycles.

After securing second place nationally in JSJB 1.0 with 4,05,561 water structures and holding the second spot in JSJB 2.0 by completing 23,07,768 of 24,07,456 registered projects, Chhattisgarh took the outright lead in JSJB 3.0. Ground teams registered 79,775 structures and completed 77,719 of them, prioritising decentralized rainwater capture designed specifically for local topographies. Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao delivered a granular breakdown of these groundwater recharge mechanisms and drinking water protection measures during the summit’s ‘Catch the Rain’ session.

The core of the initiative relies on shifting water management out of bureaucratic silos and into farmland.

Sai spotlighted Koriya district’s ‘5 Percent Model’, where farmers voluntarily set aside five percent of their agricultural plots to build percolation pits and recharge structures. Landholders supply the acreage while Gram Panchayats, Jal Sakhis, Jal Mitras, and state departments coordinate construction and geo-tagging. The physical impact is already showing up in hydrological assessments: the state’s tally of water-stressed blocks dropped from 26 down to 19, with five critical blocks now positioned to transition into normal classifications.

Sai used the platform to advocate institutionalizing state-specific water frameworks across India.

He proposed that every state formulate dedicated ‘Catch the Rain’ blueprints calibrated to local rainfall patterns and aquifer dynamics. Sai further called for the introduction of national ‘State Water Awards’, the integration of BISAG-N spatial mapping for all water bodies, and mandatory quarterly progress audits chaired by state Chief Secretaries. With the Centre setting a nationwide target to build two crore water structures by May 31, 2027, Chhattisgarh’s decentralized model offers an operational blueprint for drought-prone corridors across the country.