The State government, on Wednesday, issued guidelines to facilitate restoration of waterbodies through partnerships with private entities, including voluntary organisations, industries, and educational institutions. The initiative seeks to support the government’s rejuvenation efforts by leveraging private participation to protect water bodies.Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources N. Anand released the guidelines in the city on Wednesday. There are 22,051 minor irrigation tanks and 69,777 ponds and village tanks under the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department. While waterbodies’ restoration was being carried out through various government schemes, the storage capacity of a significant number of water bodies had not been fully restored, making additional conservation measures essential.To complement the government’s efforts, the guidelines seek to leverage corporate social responsibility funds along with participation of non-governmental organisations and educational institutions to protect water bodies, a press release said.The guidelines specified categories of works, including clearing of vegetation, strengthening of banks, and desilting of alluvial soil (vandal man) that could be assigned for projects with private partnerships. Water Users’ Association may also be allowed to remove alluvial soil from the waterbodies.Detailed measures to carry out various types of works, including project completion within three months of signing of memorandum of understanding, were also specified in the guidelines. Steps to prepare a detailed project report for removal of alluvial soil and technical standards to be followed while executing works were specified.Besides stressing on monitoring and quality control, the guidelines also detailed procedures for the use of excavated soil from the waterbodies, the release said. Published - July 02, 2026 07:25 am IST