NRAA Reviews Watershed Planning Under REWARD Programme
The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) held a Watershed Development Meeting on September 22, 2026. The meeting took place under the REWARD programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The National Level Technical Committee (NLTC) meeting took place at the NASC Complex in New Delhi.
Watershed Development Meeting Reviews Technical Guidelines
NRAA CEO Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, IAS, chaired the meeting. Around 45 participants attended the discussions.
The participants included government officials, scientists, State Level Nodal Agencies, ICAR institutions and agricultural universities. Representatives from IITs, NGOs and consortium partners also participated.
Officials from Odisha and Karnataka took part in the discussions. Dr. Susama Sudhishri, Technical Expert and PI-REWARD, NRAA, coordinated the meeting.
Dr. Kumar stressed the need to validate claims in the draft National Technical Guidelines (NTG). He said REWARD programme data should support this validation also asked Odisha and Karnataka to share watershed data with stakeholders. He recommended sharing relevant Decision Support System (DSS) resources for wider use.
Data, Hydrology and National Technical Guidelines
Dr. A. K. Nayak, DDG (NRM), ICAR, highlighted the need to link Land Resource Inventory with hydrology. This approach can support better watershed planning.
He also stressed the importance of documenting methodologies. The NTG should clearly explain how teams reach results and conclusions.
Dr. Nayak also suggested developing web portals at the earliest. Shri Nitin Khade, IAS, Joint Secretary (WM), Department of Land Resources, proposed reducing DPR preparation time.
He suggested reducing the period from six months to three months. He also called for greater sectoral convergence in the guidelines.
Dr. Susama Sudhishri presented the action taken report from the previous NLTC meeting. She also explained the additions to the second draft of the NTG.
NRAA asked State Level Nodal Agencies to share recorded data with NRAA and consortium partners. The data will support analysis, reporting and validation.
The meeting also reviewed guidelines for future watershed development. These guidelines cover the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana 3.0.
