Lok Sabha Question No. 66 (STARRED), answered on 2020-02-06
Subject: Water Crisis
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu

## *66. SHRI T.R. BAALU

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware about the NITI Aayog's report that our country is suffering from the worst water crisis in its history; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the measures taken by th  Gover ment to overcome this crisis; (c) whether the Government is also aware of the NITI Aayog's report that many cities including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, etc. are set to run out of ground water by 2020; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the contingency plan of the Government to overcome this

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *66

ANSWERED ON 06 . 02.20 20

## WATER CRISIS

## STATEMENT REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d )  OF  STARRED  QUESTION NO *66  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  06.02.2020  REGARDING  WATER  CRISIS RAISED BY SHRI T.R. BAALU, M.P .

(a) to (d) NITI Aayog , in its report titled 'Composite Water Management Index' published in June 2018, has mentioned that India is undergoing the worst water crisis in its history. Further, NIT report has mentioned that many cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Ch ennai, Hyderabad, etc., are expected to run out of groundwater by 2020. This is based on the estimates of annual groundwater reple its extraction. It does not take into account the groundwater availability in the deeper aq suchcities as intimated by NITI Aayog are given at Annexure .

Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient man water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to su efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assist through various schemes and programmes. Central Government has taken various steps to tack crisis in the country.

Ministry of Jal Shakti laun ched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a campaign for water conserva and water security, in 256 water - stressed districts of the country.

Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  has  written  a  letter  to  all  sarpanchs  on  08.06.2019  regarding  the importance of water conservation and harvesting and exhorted them to adopt all appropriate measu make water conservation a mass movement.

Central Government has formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for Water Res Development which envisages transfer of water from water surplus basins to water deficit basins thro inter - linking of rivers.

Government of  India has approved Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a Rs. 6000 CroreCentral Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community partici water stressed blocks of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan Pradesh. The scheme is being implemented dur ing 2020 - 21  to  2024 - 25  with  the  financial  assistance  o World  Bank  with  a  sharing  pattern  of  50:50  between  Government  of  India  and  World  Bank implementation  of  the  scheme  is  likely  to  have  several  positive  outcomes  including  commun approach  f or  addressing  groundwater  depletion  issues,  sustainable  groundwater  management  t convergence of ongoing/new schemes, adoption of efficient water use practices for irrigation, of groundwater resources in targeted areas, etc.

Department  o f  Water  Resources,  RD  &  GR  is  making  efforts  to  create  awareness  amo people about water conservation. National Water Awards have been initiated to recognize effo the  field  for  water  conservation/management.  National  Water  Mission  (NWM)  has  i nitiated  a  seminar series in March, 2019 -'Water Talk' -to promote dialogue and information sharing among participant various water related topics. NWM has launched a campaign 'Sahi Fasal' to nudge farmers to go for crops which use less water and eff iciently also.

ANNEXURE Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (d) of LokSabha Starred Question No. *66 to be answered on 06.02.2020 regarding ' Water Crisis '. Cities likely to face water scarcity as per NITI Aayog

|   S.No | State          | City                                           |
|--------|----------------|------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Delhi          | Delhi                                          |
|      2 | Gujarat        | Gandhinagar                                    |
|      3 | Haryana        | Gurgaon, Yamunanagar                           |
|      4 | Karnataka      | Bangalore                                      |
|      5 | Madhya Pradesh | Indore, Ratlam                                 |
|      6 | Punjab         | Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Patiala |
|      7 | Rajasthan      | Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur                |
|      8 | Tamil Nadu     | Chennai, Vellore                               |
|      9 | Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad                                      |
|     10 | Uttar Pradesh  | Agra, Ghaziabad                                |

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