Lok Sabha Question No. 262 (STARRED), answered on 2019-07-11
Subject: Shortage of Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shankar Lalwani, P. Ravindhranath

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. †*2 62

ANSWERED ON 11 . 07.201 9

## SHORTAGE OF WATER

## †*262. SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:

SHRI P. RAVEENDRANATH KUMAR:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI  be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the water level has decreased considerably in various States during the past few so, the details thereof, State - wise;
- (b)thedetails of efforts made by the Government to maintain the water supply;
- (c) whether any special steps are proposed to be taken to meet the shortage of water at pres thedetails thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  constituted/developed  a ny  mechanism  to  identify  the  areas  in  which groundwater is depleting at alarming level; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the corrective measures/steps taken/to be taken by the check depletion of groundwater level as well as develop r echarging system for groundwater level acros the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

- (a) to (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART S (a) TO ( e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. † *262 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 11 .07.2019  REGARDING ' SHORTAGE OF WATER '  RAISED BY S/SHRI  SHANKAR  LALWANI  and  P.  RAVEENDRANATH  KUMAR , M.P s

(a)to (e ) Ground water levels in various parts of the Country are declining because of con withdrawal due to reasons such as increased demand of fresh water for various uses, vag rainfall, increased population, industrialization & urbanization etc.

Central  Ground  Water  Board  is  periodically  monitoring  the  ground  water  levels  througho Country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. In order to assess the decline in water level on a long - term  basis,  Pre - monsoon  water  level  dat a collected by CGWB during Pre -monsoon 2019 has been compared with the decadal average (2009 - 2018). Analysis of water level data (Annexure) indicates that about 61% of the wells monitored have registered decline in water levels.

The Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being periodically assessed jointl Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2017 assessment, out of the total 6881 assessment units (Block/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the Count ry, 1186 units  in  17  States/UTs  have  been  categorized  as  'Over -exploited'  where  Current  Annual  Ground Water Extraction is more than Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource.

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 measures water conservation a mass movement.

Government of India has launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan which is a time bound campa ign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including ground water condit the water stressed blocks.

Central  Government  supports  construction  of  water  harvesting  and  conservation  works  pri through Mahatma Gandhi Na tional Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) , Pradhan Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana -Watershed  Development  Component  (PMKSY- WDC)  and PMKSY - Per Drop More Crop. Under these Schemes, 17,56,207 water conservation and recharg structures have been con structed at an expenditure of Rs. 23,435.67 crore in the last three yea

Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management including conservation and recharge to  ground  water in the Country is primarily States'  responsibility. Howe ver, the Central Government has taken up important long term policies initiatives for conservation of grou and rain water harvesting to recharge ground water in order to control depletion of gr ound water level in the country which are available at http://mowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps\_to\_control\_water\_depletion\_Jun2019.pdf

***

Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (e) of Starred Q.No. 262 to be answered in Sabha on 11.07.2019 regarding 'Shortage of Water'

State - wise  Decadal  Water  Level  Fluctuation  with  Mean  [Premonsoon  (2009  to  2018]  and Premonsoon 2019]

| S. No.               | Name of State        | No. of wells Analysed   | Rise     | Rise   | Fall     | Fall   | Wells showing no change   | Wells showing no change   |
|----------------------|----------------------|-------------------------|----------|--------|----------|--------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
| S. No.               | Name of State        | No. of wells Analysed   | No       | %      | No       | %      | No                        | %                         |
| 1                    | Andhra Pradesh       | 714                     | 194      | 27     | 518      | 73     | 2                         | 0.3                       |
| 2                    | Arunachal Pradesh    | 18                      | 2        | 11     | 16       | 89     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 3                    | Assam                | 230                     | 111      | 48     | 119      | 52     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 4                    | Bihar                | 619                     | 195      | 32     | 419      | 68     | 5                         | 0.8                       |
| 5                    | Chandigarh           | 12                      | 4        | 33     | 8        | 67     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 6                    | Chhattisgarh         | 602                     | 237      | 39     | 352      | 58     | 13                        | 2.2                       |
| 7                    | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 18                      | 2        | 11     | 16       | 89     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 8                    | Daman & Diu          | 11                      | 5        | 45     | 5        | 45     | 1                         | 9.1                       |
| 9                    | Delhi                | 73                      | 36       | 49     | 37       | 51     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 10                   | Goa                  | 64                      | 18       | 28     | 46       | 72     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 11                   | Gujarat              | 657                     | 244      | 37     | 413      | 63     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 12                   | Haryana              | 279                     | 94       | 34     | 184      | 66     | 1                         | 0.4                       |
| 13                   | Himachal Pradesh     | 101                     | 81       | 80     | 20       | 20     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 14                   | Jammu & Kashmir      | 204                     | 86       | 42     | 118      | 58     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 15                   | Jharkhand            | 271                     | 103      | 38     | 168      | 62     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 16                   | Karnataka            | 1098                    | 217      | 20     | 881      | 80     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 17                   | Kerala               | 1427                    | 661      | 46     | 762      | 53     | 4                         | 0.3                       |
| 18                   | Madhya Pradesh       | 1099                    | 532      | 48     | 567      | 52     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 19                   | Maharashtra          | 1645                    | 401      | 24     | 1241     | 75     | 3                         | 0.2                       |
| 20                   | Meghalaya            | 53                      | 39       | 74     | 14       | 26     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 21                   | Odhisha              | 1064                    | 730      | 69     | 334      | 31     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 22                   | Pondicherry          | 6                       | 0        | 0      | 6        | 100    | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 23                   | Punjab               | 245                     | 74       | 30     | 170      | 69     | 1                         | 0.4                       |
| 24                   | Rajasthan            | 893                     | 301      | 34     | 588      | 66     | 4                         | 0.4                       |
| 25                   | Tamil Nadu           | 612                     | 177      | 29     | 318      | 52     | 117                       | 19.1                      |
| 26                   | Telangana            | 557                     | 188      | 34     | 366      | 66     | 3                         | 0.5                       |
| 27                   | Tripura              | 75                      | 31       | 41     | 44       | 59     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 28                   | Uttar Pradesh        | 581                     | 157      | 27     | 423      | 73     | 1                         | 0.2                       |
| 29                   | Uttarakhand          | 42                      | 15       | 36     | 27       | 64     | 0                         | 0.0                       |
| 30 West Bengal Total | 30 West Bengal Total | 358 13628               | 178 5113 | 50 38  | 177 8357 | 49 61  | 3 158                     | 0.8 1.2                   |