Narwa Vikas Yojana has yielded a fruitful result in State as soil moisture-levels have increased in Gurur block of Balod district as an impact of Narwa Vikas Yojana. Vegetation health has also improved in the area of Gurur block after Narwa Vikas Yojana was started. A study has been conducted on Kharun nala in Gurur block of Balod district, whose Narwa treatment was started in May, 2019. 406 structures were built on 40 square kilometers catchment area of 10 km long stream. Data from Satellites- Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 were used for Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), land surface temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and soil moisture index estimation in Gurur block of Balod district for March, 2019 and March, 2022.

A study in Gurur block of Balod district was conducted by the technical team of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), Department of Forest and Climate Change, Government of Chhattisgarh in the catchment area of Kharun Nala. Based on soil moisture index, it was found that there has been an increase in the overall area of moderate and high moisture content areas and a decrease in the low moisture content areas of the sample block in 2022 in comparison to 2019. The rainfall figure on 2018 (1193.28mm) and 2021 (1051.82mm) of the area reveals that there was a decline in rainfall in 2021 by 141.46 mm. But, still the NDVI value of the area has increased in 2022 in comparison to 2019. This increase in overall soil moisture levels and improvement of vegetation health has been a result of Narwa Vikas Yojana, described Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Balod Ayush Jain.

In the peninsular region of the country, the drainage system of rivers and rivulets is critical for the livelihood of the millions of people who depend on agriculture and allied activities for their sustenance. Narwa Vikas Yojana, which is the first component of the Narwa, Garwa, Ghuruwa and Bari (NGGB) launched by Government of Chhattisgarh in January 2019, stands with the objective to treat rivulets/ streams in different parts of the state so as to increase the water retention time and capacity of the rivulets, conserving soil moisture content of the area, improve soil fertility by reduced soil erosion and to increase the ground water level. 6,395 streams with more than 103 lakh structures have

treated 22.91 lakhs hectare of the catchment area in the forests of Chhattisgarh. The Narwa Vikas Yojana is being carried out by the Department of Forest and Climate Change, Government of Chhattisgarh in the last four years. The Narwa Vikas Yojana is being carried out in the forest areas of the Department of Forest and Climate Change for the past four years. Narwa Vikas Yojana focuses on treatment of whole of the catchment area of a rivulet along with the main stream itself.

Structures like brushwood check dam, loose boulder check dams (LBCD), staggered contour trenches (SCT), percolation tanks, gabions structures, dykes etc. have been constructed for catchment treatment works in Balod forest division, Ayush Jain added. The catchment treatment done for the area has helped in increasing the overall duration of water flow in the rivulets; it has assisted in promoting regeneration; it has provided drinking water to cattle and wild animals during dry seasons. It has led to an increase in the ground water levels in nearby villages and it has also assisted farmers for irrigational purposes, the DFO said. The best practice of Narwa Vikas Yojana in Balod forest division will be shared during the “National Level Consultative Workshop on Soil and Water Conservation Measures for Rejuvenation of Streams inside Forest and Sustainable Management of Minor Forest Produce- the Chhattisgarh Way” to be held in State Capital from May 23 to 25.