Rajasthan No.1 in water conservation: NITI Aayog
Jaipur, June 20 : NITI Aayog has ranked Rajasthan at No.1 among the states in water conversation as it registered a significant increase in the level of ground water.
Shriram Vedire, President, Rajasthan River basin and Water Resources Planning Authority, said on Tuesday the NITI Aayog's report confirmed that the water level has increased in state due to water conservation structures built under Chief Minister's Jal Swawlamban Abhiyan programme.
Also, there has been an increase in irrigation capacity by 81 per cent.
The innovative techniques adopted under the project such as geo-tagging and surveying with the help of drone while engaging people who too participated actively in the campaign is something which other states should follow and adopt, said Vedire.
A total of 4 lakh water conservation structures were created and 1.5 million plantations were done in last three years under the directions of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
With these efforts, the ground water level has risen by 5 feet in around 21 districts. Also, there has been a decrease in distributing water through tankers by 56 per cent.
Looking at the significant impact of the initiatives taken by the state government, NITI Aayog has directed other states to take similar initiatives in water conservation, rehabilitation of water resources and irrigation management.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
