Dehradun, March 6 -- The state government on Thursday approved several projects to strengthen water conservation, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge in urban areas under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, officials said. The decision was taken during a meeting of the High-Power Committee chaired by chief secretary Anand Bardhan. Officials said projects proposed by the minor irrigation department in Haldwani and Nainital were also approved, including the development of water recharge structures and park beautification works. The projects will be implemented at Harihar Colony and the university area in Haldwani, as well as Usha Rupak Colony in Nainital and Sudarshan Colony in Haldwani. Under proposals submitted by the minor irrigation department in Haridwar, the committee approved the installation of a rainwater harvesting recharge shaft in Bahadrabad. The Committee further cleared plans for the construction of a groundwater recharge shaft using harvested water at Ramdham Colony Park in Shivalik Nagar and groundwater recharge works at Rajlok Colony Park under the municipal corporation. The committee also approved the renovation of a pond located in Rangadwala under the jurisdiction of Nagar Panchayat Imlikheda in Haridwar district. Similarly, works proposed by the minor irrigation department in Dehradun were approved, including renovation of a pond and construction of a recharge shaft in the Nawada area and the installation of another recharge shaft in Defence Colony. The committee also decided to utilise savings of about Rs.39.82 crore from projects approved earlier under AMRUT 1.0. Using these funds, the panel approved a proposal to install water metres in the urban areas of Rudrapur and Kashipur to improve urban water management. He said the implementation of these projects would promote rainwater harvesting and improve groundwater levels....