Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation was the apex body for formulation and administration of rules and regulations relating to the development and regulation of the water resources in India. The Ministry was formed in January 1985 following the bifurcation of the then Ministry of Irrigation and Power, when the Department of Irrigation was re-constituted as the Ministry of Water Resources. In July 2014, the Ministry was renamed to “Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation”, making it the National Ganga River Basin Authority for conservation, development, management, and abatement of pollution in the river Ganges and its tributaries.^[3] In May 2019, this ministry was merged with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to form the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation

Emblem of India
Agency overview
Formed	September 1985; 39 years ago (1985-09)
Preceding agencies	Ministry of National Resources and Scientific Research (1951-52) Ministry of Irrigation and Power (1952-74; 1985) Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (1974-80) Ministry of Energy and Irrigation (1980) Ministry of Irrigation (1980-85)
Dissolved	May 2019[1]
Superseding agency	Ministry of Jal Shakti (2019-present)
Jurisdiction	Government of India
Headquarters	Ministry of Water Resources, Shram Shakti Bhawan, Rafi Marg, New Delhi
Annual budget	US$243,134,089[2]
Website	jalshakti-dowr.gov.in

Organisations

• Bansagar Control Board
• Betwa River Board
• Brahmaputra Board
• Central Ground Water Board^[4]
• Central Soil and Materials Research Station^[5]
• Central Water and Power Research Station
• Central Water Commission^[6]
• Farakka Barrage Project
• Ganga Flood Control Commission
• Narmada Control Authority
• National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee^[7]
• National Projects Construction Corporation Limited
• National Water Development Agency
• North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM)^[8]
• Sardar Sarovar Construction Advisory Committee
• Tungabhadra Board
• Upper Yamuna River Board
• WAPCOS Limited

CGWB

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), created in 1970 under the Ministry of Water Resources of India, for regulation of ground water development to ensure long-term sustainability. It is responsible for "providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water resources of the country." It is a multi-disciplinary scientific entity comprising Hydrologists, Hydrometeorologists, Hydrogeologists, Geophysicists, Chemists, and Engineers. It is headquartered at NH-19 (old NH-4) in Faridabad in Haryana.^[9]

It has following 4 wings:^[9]

1. Sustainable Management & Liaison (SML)
2. Survey, Assessment & Monitoring (SAM)
3. Exploratory Drilling & Materials Management (ED&MM)
4. Water Quality & Training and Technology Transfer (WQ&TT)

Cabinet Ministers

Note: MoS (I/C) – Minister of State (Independent Charge)

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death)	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
Minister of Works, Mines and Power
1			Narhar Vishnu Gadgil (1896–1966) MCA for Bombay	15 August 1947	26 December 1950	3 years, 133 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru I	Jawaharlal Nehru
Minister of Natural Resources and Scientific Research
2			Sri Prakasa (1890–1971)	26 December 1950	13 May 1952	1 year, 139 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru I	Jawaharlal Nehru
3			Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958) MP for Rampur	13 May 1952	6 June 1952	24 days		Nehru II
Minister of Irrigation and Power
4			Gulzarilal Nanda (1898–1998) MP for Sabarkantha	6 June 1952	17 April 1957	4 years, 315 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru II	Jawaharlal Nehru
5			S. K. Patil (1898–1981) MP for Mumbai South	17 April 1957	2 April 1958	350 days		Nehru III
6			Hafiz Mohamad Ibrahim (1889–1968) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh	2 April 1958	10 April 1962	5 years, 85 days
				10 April 1962	26 June 1963			Nehru IV
7			Kanuri Lakshmana Rao (1902–1986) MP for Vijayawada (MoS)	19 July 1963	27 May 1964	326 days
				27 May 1964	9 June 1964			Nanda I	Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
8			H. C. Dasappa (1894–1964) MP for Bangalore	9 June 1964	19 July 1964	40 days		Shastri	Lal Bahadur Shastri
(7)			Kanuri Lakshmana Rao (1902–1986) MP for Vijayawada (MoS)	19 July 1964	11 January 1966	1 year, 189 days
				11 January 1966	24 January 1966			Nanda II	Gulzarilal Nanda (acting)
9			Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977) MP for Barpeta	24 January 1966	13 November 1966	293 days		Indira I	Indira Gandhi
(7)			Kanuri Lakshmana Rao (1902–1986) MP for Vijayawada (MoS)	13 November 1966	18 March 1971	6 years, 361 days
				18 March 1971	9 November 1973			Indira II
10			K. C. Pant (1931–2012) MP for Nainital	9 November 1973	10 October 1974	335 days
Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation
11			Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) MP for Sasaram	10 October 1974	2 February 1977	2 years, 115 days	Indian National Congress	Indira II	Indira Gandhi
12			Parkash Singh Badal (1927–2023) MP for Faridkot	28 March 1977	17 June 1977	81 days	Shiromani Akali Dal	Desai	Morarji Desai
13			Surjit Singh Barnala (1925–2017) MP for Sangrur	18 June 1977	28 July 1979	2 years, 40 days
14			Brahm Prakash (1918–1993) MP for Outer Delhi	28 July 1979	14 January 1980	170 days	Indian National Congress (Urs)	Charan	Charan Singh
Minister of Irrigation
15			A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury (1927–2006) MP for Malda	16 January 1980	8 June 1980	144 days	Indian National Congress	Indira III	Indira Gandhi
16			Kedar Pandey (1920–1982) MP for Bettiah	8 June 1980	12 November 1980	157 days
17			Rao Birender Singh (1921–2000) MP for Mahendragarh	12 November 1980	15 January 1982	1 year, 64 days
(16)			Kedar Pandey (1920–1982) MP for Bettiah	15 January 1982	29 January 1983	1 year, 14 days
18			Ram Niwas Mirdha (1924–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan (MoS, I/C)	29 January 1983	2 August 1984	1 year, 186 days
19			Prakash Chandra Sethi (1919–1996) MP for Indore	2 August 1984	31 October 1984	90 days
20			C. K. Jaffer Sharief (1933–2018) MP for Bangalore North	4 November 1984	31 December 1984	57 days		Rajiv I	Rajiv Gandhi
21			B. Shankaranand (1925–2009) MP for Chikkodi	31 December 1984	25 September 1985	268 days		Rajiv II
Minister of Water Resources
22			B. Shankaranand (1925–2009) MP for Chikkodi	25 September 1985	22 August 1987	1 year, 331 days	Indian National Congress	Rajiv II	Rajiv Gandhi
–			Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP for Amethi (Prime Minister)	22 August 1987	10 November 1987	19 days
23			Ram Niwas Mirdha (1924–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan (MoS, I/C)	10 November 1987	14 February 1988	96 days
24			Dinesh Singh (1925–1995) MP for Pratapgarh	14 February 1988	25 June 1988	132 days
(22)			B. Shankaranand (1925–2009) MP for Chikkodi	25 June 1988	4 July 1989	1 year, 9 days
25			M. M. Jacob (1926–2018) Rajya Sabha MP for Kerala (MoS, I/C)	4 July 1989	2 December 1989	151 days
26			Manubhai Kotadia (1936–2003) MP for Amreli (MoS, I/C until 5 November 1990)	6 December 1989	5 November 1990	334 days	Janata Dal	V. P. Singh	V. P. Singh
				21 November 1990	26 April 1991	156 days	Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)	Chandra Shekhar	Chandra Shekhar
–			Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) MP for Ballia (Prime Minister)	26 April 1991	21 June 1991	56 days
27			Vidya Charan Shukla (1929–2013) MP for Raipur	21 June 1991	17 January 1996	4 years, 210 days	Indian National Congress	Rao	P. V. Narasimha Rao
–			P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Nandyal (Prime Minister)	17 January 1996	7 February 1996	21 days
28			A. R. Antulay (1929–2014) MP for Kolaba	7 February 1996	16 May 1996	99 days
–			Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister)	16 May 1996	1 June 1996	16 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee I	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
–			H. D. Deve Gowda (born 1933) Unelected (Prime Minister)	1 June 1996	29 June 1996	28 days	Janata Dal	Deve Gowda	H. D. Deve Gowda
29			Janeshwar Mishra (1933–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh	29 June 1996	21 April 1997	345 days	Samajwadi Party
				21 April 1997	9 June 1997			Gujral	Inder Kumar Gujral
30			Sis Ram Ola (1927–2013) MP for Jhunjhunu (MoS, I/C)	9 June 1997	19 March 1998	283 days	All India Indira Congress (Tiwari)
–			Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister)	19 March 1998	13 October 1999	1 year, 208 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee II	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
31			Pramod Mahajan (1949–2006) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra	13 October 1999	22 November 1999	40 days		Vajpayee III
32			C. P. Thakur (born 1931) MP for Patna	22 November 1999	27 May 2000	187 days
33			Arjun Charan Sethi (1941–2020) MP for Bhadrak	27 May 2000	22 May 2004	3 years, 361 days	Biju Janata Dal
34			Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi (1945–2017) MP for Raiganj	23 May 2004	18 November 2005	1 year, 179 days	Indian National Congress	Manmohan I	Manmohan Singh
35			Santosh Mohan Dev (1934–2017) MP for Silchar (MoS, I/C)	18 November 2005	29 January 2006	72 days
36			Saifuddin Soz (born 1937) Rajya Sabha MP for Jammu and Kashmir	29 January 2006	22 May 2009	3 years, 113 days
37			Meira Kumar (born 1945) MP for Sasaram	28 May 2009	31 May 2009	3 days		Manmohan II
–			Manmohan Singh (born 1932) Rajya Sabha MP for Assam (Prime Minister)	31 May 2009	14 June 2009	14 days
38			Pawan Kumar Bansal (born 1948) MP for Chandigarh	14 June 2009	19 January 2011	1 year, 219 days
39			Salman Khurshid (born 1953) MP for Farrukhabad	19 January 2011	12 July 2011	174 days
(38)			Pawan Kumar Bansal (born 1948) MP for Chandigarh	12 July 2011	28 October 2012	1 year, 108 days
40			Harish Rawat (born 1948) MP for Haridwar	28 October 2012	1 February 2014	1 year, 96 days
41			Ghulam Nabi Azad (born 1949) Rajya Sabha MP for Jammu and Kashmir	1 February 2014	26 May 2014	114 days
Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
42			Uma Bharti (born 1959) MP for Jhansi	27 May 2014	3 September 2017	3 years, 99 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi I	Narendra Modi
43			Nitin Gadkari (born 1957) MP for Nagpur	3 September 2017	30 May 2019	1 year, 269 days
Ministry merged with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to form Ministry of Jal Shakti

Ministers of State

Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
			From	To	Period
Minister of State for Irrigation and Power
		O. V. Alagesan (1911–1992) MP for Chengalpattu	8 May 1962	19 July 1963	1 year, 72 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru IV	Jawaharlal Nehru
		Kanuri Lakshmana Rao (1902–1986) MP for Vijayawada	9 June 1964	19 July 1964	40 days		Shastri	Lal Bahadur Shastri
			24 January 1966	13 November 1966	293 days		Indira I	Indira Gandhi
Minister of State for Agriculture and Irrigation
		Annasaheb Shinde (1922–1993) MP for Kopargaon	10 October 1974	24 March 1977	2 years, 165 days	Indian National Congress	Indira II	Indira Gandhi
		Shah Nawaz Khan (1914–1993) MP for Meerut	10 October 1974	24 March 1977	2 years, 165 days
		Bhanu Pratap Singh (born 1935) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh	14 August 1977	15 July 1979	1 year, 335 days	Janata Party	Desai	Morarji Desai
		Nathuram Mirdha (1921–1996) MP for Nagaur	4 August 1979	25 October 1979	82 days	Janata Party (Secular)	Charan	Charan Singh
		M. V. Krishnappa (1918–1980) MP for Chikballapur	4 August 1979	14 January 1980	163 days
Minister of State for Irrigation
		Ziaur Rahman Ansari (1925–1992) MP for Unnao	19 January 1980	29 January 1983	3 years, 10 days	Indian National Congress	Indira III	Indira Gandhi
		Harinath Mishra MP for Darbhanga	2 August 1984	31 October 1984	90 days
Minister of State for Water Resources
		Krishna Sahi (born 1931) MP for Begusarai	14 February 1988	4 July 1989	1 year, 140 days	Indian National Congress	Rajiv II	Rajiv Gandhi
		Prem Khandu Thungan (born 1946) MP for Arunachal West	19 January 1993	10 February 1995	2 years, 22 days		Rao	P. V. Narasimha Rao
		P. V. Rangayya Naidu (born 1933) MP for Khammam	10 February 1995	16 May 1996	1 year, 96 days
		Sompal Shastri (born 1942) MP for Baghpat	3 February 1999	13 October 1999	252 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee II	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
		Bijoya Chakravarty (born 1939) MP for Gauhati	13 October 1999	22 May 2004	4 years, 222 days		Vajpayee III
		Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav (born 1954) MP for Munger	23 May 2004	6 November 2005	1 year, 167 days	Rashtriya Janata Dal	Manmohan I	Manmohan Singh
			24 October 2006	22 May 2009	2 years, 210 days
		Vincent Pala (born 1968) MP for Shillong	28 May 2009	28 October 2012	3 years, 153 days	Indian National Congress	Manmohan II
Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
		Santosh Kumar Gangwar (born 1948) MP for Bareilly	27 May 2014	9 November 2014	166 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi I	Narendra Modi
		Sanwar Lal Jat (1955–2017) MP for Ajmer	9 November 2014	5 July 2016	1 year, 239 days
		Vijay Goel (born 1954) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan	5 July 2016	3 September 2017	1 year, 60 days
		Sanjeev Balyan (born 1972) MP for Muzaffarnagar	5 July 2016	3 September 2017	1 year, 60 days
		Arjun Ram Meghwal (born 1953) MP for Bikaner	3 September 2017	30 May 2019	1 year, 269 days
		Satya Pal Singh (born 1955) MP for Baghpat	3 September 2017	30 May 2019	1 year, 269 days
Ministry merged with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to form Ministry of Jal Shakti

Deputy Ministers

Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
			From	To	Period
Deputy Minister of Irrigation and Power
		Jaisukhlal Hathi (1909–1982) MP for Gujarat (Rajya Sabha), until 1957 MP for Halar, from 1957	12 September 1952	17 April 1957	9 years, 210 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru II	Jawaharlal Nehru
			17 April 1957	10 April 1962			Nehru III
		Shyam Dhar Mishra (1919–2001) MP for Mirzapur	15 June 1964	11 January 1966	1 year, 223 days		Shastri	Lal Bahadur Shastri
11 January 1966	24 January 1966	Nanda II	Gulzarilal Nanda (acting)
		Siddheshwar Prasad (1929–2023) MP for Nalanda	13 November 1967	18 March 1971	3 years, 170 days		Indira I	Indira Gandhi
			18 March 1971	2 May 1971			Indira II
		Baijnath Kureel (1920–1984) MP for Ramsanehighat	2 May 1971	4 February 1973	1 year, 278 days
		Balgovind Verma (1923–1980) MP for Kheri	5 February 1973	9 November 1973	277 days
		Siddheshwar Prasad (1929–2023) MP for Nalanda	9 November 1973	10 October 1974	335 days
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation
		Kedar Nath Singh MP for Sultanpur	10 October 1974	24 March 1977	2 years, 165 days	Indian National Congress	Indira II	Indira Gandhi
		Prabhudas Patel (1914–?) MP for Dabhoi	23 October 1974	14 March 1977	2 years, 142 days

Projects

• Indian Rivers Inter-link