Lok Sabha Question No. 2792 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-05
Subject: Over Exploitation of Water Resources
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2792

## ANSWERED ON 05.12 .2019

## OVER EXPLOITATION OF WATER RESOURCES

## 2792. DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether the  Government  proposes  to  work  out  a  plan  to  regulate  excessive  exploitation resources including ground water to check water crisis in near future;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government proposes to adopt new technologies for better utilisation of water and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government has any specific plan for the State of Maharashtra; and

(e) if so, the details and outcome thereof?

## AN SWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

## (SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA )

(a) to (e) Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation and conservation of water res primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts Governments, Central Government provides technical and fi nancial assistance to them through variou schemes  and  programmes.  Central  Government  has  taken  various  steps  for conservation  of  water  by regulating over exploitation of water and using new technologies for better utilization of wate

Ministryof  Jal  Shakti  has  launched  Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan  (JSA),  a  campaign  for conservation and water security, in 256 water - stress d districts of the country.

Central  Government  has  launched  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana (PMKSY)  for completion of 99 on -going Major Medium irrigation projects having ultimate irrigation potential lakh hectares. Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare is implementing Per D Crop  component  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Kris hi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY)  in  various  States  includin Maharashtra, which mainly focuses on water use efficiency at farm level through precision irr and Sprinkler Irrigation System) and better on -farm water management practices to optimize th e use of available water resources. It also supports micro level water storage or water conservatio activities to supplement Micro Irrigation.

During 2016 - 17, 26 ongoing Major/Medium Irrigation (MMI) projects of Maharashtra un PMKSY - AIBP  having  ultimate  potential  of  8.50  lakh  hectare  have  been  prioritized  for  com phases  by  December,  2019.    Additional  potential  of  1.72  lakh  hectare  ha s  been  created  through  these projects during 2016 - 19. Further, during 2018 - 19, Government of India approved a special package f completion of 8 MMI and 83 Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) projects of Maharashtra, having balance cost of Rs.13651.6 1 crore as on 01.04.2018. These projects are planned to be completed i by 2022 - 23.

Further,  the  CWC  has  also  issued  'Guidelines  for  Planning  and  Design  of  Piped  Irrigation Network 2017' which show the comparative advantage of mic ro irrigation vis - à- vis conventional methods of irrigation. Government of Maharashtra has adopted a policy for Pipe Distribution Network projects. The Government has also made it compulsory for selected projects to supply irriga sugarcane crop in command area through micro irrigation facilities.

Central Ground Water Board is implementing a nationwide programme of 'National Aquifer Mapping  and  Management  (NAQUIM)'  for  mapping  of  aquifers  (Water  bearing  formations),  their characteriza tion and development of aquifer management plans to facilitate sustainable devel ground water resources. Aquifer maps and management plans have been shared with the respect Government agencies.

Central  Ground  Water  Board  is  implementing innovative  schemes  for  Aquifer  Rejuvenation under  'Ground  Water  Management  and  Regulation'  scheme  in  select  overexploited  blocks  of  the aspirational  districts  on  pilot  basis.  Water  Harvesting  and  Recharge  Augmentation  are  pro piloted through con struction of Bridge cum Bhandaras in parts of Maharashtra. Further, a joi Plan has been prepared with the Ministry of Rural development for effective implementatio conservation  and  artificial  recharge  structures  in  convergence  with  MGNRE GS.  Nine  water  stressed blocks  in  the  State  of  Haryana,  Rajasthan,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Telangana,  Karna Tamil Nadu have been identified, where work is in progress.

Central  Water  Commission  monitors  live  storage  status  of  120  reservoirs  of the  country  on weekly basis and issues weekly bulletin on every Thursday. Whenever the current storage of being monitored by Central Water Commission, in a state falls below 80% of Normal (Average S last ten years), advisory is issued to the concerned State Government for judicious use of available In the year 2019, Central Water Commission has issued advisory to the State Governments o Maharashtra,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Andhra  Pradesh,  Telangana,  Tamil  Nadu,  Jharkhand,  Karna taka,  Kerala, Tripura and Uttarakhand for judicious use of available water.

Some initiatives/measures taken by Central Government to control water depletion and rain water harvesting / conservation are available at the URL: http://mowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps\_to\_control\_water\_depletion\_Jun2019.pdf

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