Lok Sabha Question No. 2841 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-05
Subject: Decline in Ground Water Level
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: S. Jagathrakshakan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.

## 2841 ANSWERED ON 05.08 .2021

## DECLINE IN GROUND WA TER LEVEL

## 2841. SHRI S. JAGATHRAKSHAKAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that there is a decline in ground water level in the cou a need to sustainably manage it;

(b) if so, the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard; and

(c)  the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  provide  safe  and  adequate  drinking  water households in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## ( SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL )

(a) & (b) Ground water levels in some parts of the Country are declining because of continuous necessitated by increased demand of fresh water for various uses, vagaries of rainfall, incr industrialization & urbanization etc.

Central  Gro und  Water  Board  (CGWB)  is  periodically  monitoring  the  ground  water  l throughout the Country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. In orde long term fluctuation in ground water level, the water level data collected by CGWB during November 2020 has  been  compared  with  the  decadal  mean  of  November  (2010 - 2019).  Analysis  of  water  level  dat ( Annexure ) indicates that about 38% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground mostly in the range of 0.0 -2.0 m. Further, about 62 % wells have also registered rise in groundwa mostly in the range of 0.0 -2.0 m.

Water  being  a  State  subject,  initiatives  on  water  management  including  conservati harvesting in the Country is primarily Stat es' responsibility. However, the important measures taken by th Central Government for conservation, management of ground water and effective implementati water harvesting in the country are available at the following URL:http://jalshakti -dowr. gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps\_to\_control\_water\_depletion\_Feb2021.pdf . Some of the important initiatives in this regard are listed below.

Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019, a time bound campaig mission mode approach i ntended to improve water availability including ground water conditio water stressed blocksof 256 districts in India. In this regard, teams of officers from Central Go along - with technical officers from Ministry of Jal Shakti were depu ed to visit water stressed districts a

work in close collaboration with district level officials to undertake suitable interventions. In addition 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain' campaign has been launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India on 22 March 2021.

Central  Ground  Water  Board  (C GWB)  is  implementing  National  Aquifer  Mapping  and Management program (NAQUIM), which envisages mapping of aquifers (water bearing formations) characterization and development of Aquifer Management Plans to facilitate sustainable ma Ground Water Resources. The State - wise information is shared with States/Uts for implementation.

Ministry  of  Jal  shakti,  Department  of  Water  Resources,  RD  &  GR ( oWR,  RD  &  GR)  is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a Rs.6,000.00 crore Central Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation. Atal Jal is being implem water  stressed  districts  and  8774  Gram  Panchayats  of  seven  States  viz.  Gujarat,  Haryana Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Central Government supports construction of water harvesting and conservation works through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantr Krishi Sinchayee Yojana -Watershed De velopment Component (PMKSY - WDC).

Further, a number of States have done notable work in the field of water conservati for  sustainable  management  of  water  resources. Of  these,  mention  can  be  made  of  'Mukhyamantri  Jal Swavlamban  Abhiyan'  in  Rajasthan,  'Jalyukt  Shibar'  in  Maharashtra,  'Sujalam  Sufalam  Abhiyan'  in Gujarat, 'Mission Kakatiya' in Telangana, Neeru Chettu' in Andhra Pradesh, Jal Jeevan Hariyali in Bihar, 'Jal Hi Jeevan' in Haryana among others.

(c)Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) since A 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality to every rural household in 2024. Under JJM, while planning water supply schemes to provide tap water supply to house - holds, priority is given to quality -affected habitations. While allocating the funds to States/ UTs in a partic year, 10% weightage is given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemica including Arseni c and Fluoride, as on 31st March of the preceding Financial Year.

Since, planning, implementation and commissioning of piped water supply schemes ba safe water source may take time, purely as an interim measure, States/ UTs have been advi install community  water  purification  plants  (CWPPs)  in  such  habitations,  to  provide  potable  wat household at the rate of 8 -10 litre per capita per day (lpcd) to meet their drinking and cooking r

Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation had launched a National Water Quality Sub - Mission (NWQSM) on 22 nd March, 2017 as a part of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), w has  now  been  subsumed  under  Jal  Jeevan  Mission,  to  provide  safe  drinking  water  to  27,54 Fluoride affected rural habitations in the country.

## Annexu re referred to in reply to part (a) of Unstarred Question No. 2841 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 05.08.2021 regarding 'Decline in Ground Water Level'.

## State - wise Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean [November (2010 to 2019] and November 2020

| S. No.                 | Name of State    | No. of wells Analysed   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   | Rise Fall m   |        |         | Rise    | Rise                    | Rise                    | Rise                    |
|------------------------|------------------|-------------------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|--------|---------|---------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| S. No.                 | Name of State    | No. of wells Analysed   | 0- 2 m        | 0- 2 m        | 2- 4 m        | >4 m          | >4 m          | 0- 2          | 0- 2          | 2- 4 m        | 2- 4 m        | >4 m          | >4 m          |               |        | Fall No | Fall No | Wells showing no change | Wells showing no change | Wells showing no change |
| S. No.                 | Name of State    | No                      | %             | No            | %             | No            | %             | No            | %             | No            | %             | No            | %             | No            | %      | %       |         | No                      | %                       | %                       |
| 1                      | Andhra Pradesh   | 688 395                 | 57.4          | 92            | 13.4          | 38            | 5.5           | 146           | 21.2          | 12            | 1.7           | 5             | 0.7           | 525           | 76 163 | 24      | 0       |                         | 0                       | 0                       |
| 2 Arunachal            | Pradesh          | 3 3                     | 100.0         | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 3 100         | 0      |         | 0       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 3                      | Assam            | 158 113                 | 71.5          | 5             | 3.2           | 2             | 1.3           | 35            | 22.2          | 3             | 1.9           | 0             | 0.0           | 120           | 76 38  |         | 24      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 4                      | Bihar            | 536 284                 | 53.0          | 41            | 7.6           | 4             | 0.7           | 184           | 34.3          | 17            | 3.2           | 6             | 1.1           | 329           | 61     | 207     | 39      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 5                      | Chandigarh       | 11 3                    | 27.3          | 2             | 18.2          | 0             | 0.0           | 5             | 45.5          | 0             | 0.0           | 1             | 9.1           | 5             | 45 6   |         | 55      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 6                      | Chhattisgarh     | 700 261                 | 37.3          | 41            | 5.9           | 15            | 2.1           | 312           | 44.6          | 53            | 7.6           | 18            | 2.6           | 317           | 45     | 383     | 55      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 7 Dadra & Nagar Haveli |                  | 17 11                   | 64.7          | 2             | 11.8          | 1             | 5.9           | 3             | 17.6          | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 14            | 82     | 3       | 18      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 8                      | Daman & Diu      | 9 7                     | 77.8          | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 2             | 22.2          | 0             | 0.0           | 0 0.0         |               | 7             | 78     | 2       | 22      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 9                      | Delhi            | 80 11                   | 13.8          | 3             | 3.8           | 4             | 5.0           | 31            | 38.8          | 19            | 23.8          | 12            | 15.0          | 18            | 23     | 62      | 78      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 10 Goa                 |                  | 65 7                    | 10.8          | 0             | 0.0           | 1             | 1.5           | 50            | 76.9          | 7             | 10.8          | 0             | 0.0           | 8             | 12     | 57      | 88      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 11                     | Gujarat          | 736 279                 | 37.9          | 93            | 12.6          | 116           | 15.8          | 179           | 24.3          | 49            | 6.7           | 20            | 2.7           | 488           | 66     | 248     | 34      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 12                     | Haryana          | 312 83                  | 26.6          | 5             | 1.6           | 7             | 2.2 94        |               | 30.1          | 44            | 14.1          | 78            | 25.0          | 95            | 30     | 216     | 69      | 1                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 13                     | Himachal Pradesh | 88 31                   | 35.2          | 3             | 3.4           | 2             | 2.3           | 47            | 53.4          | 3             | 3.4           | 2             | 2.3           | 36            | 41     | 52      | 59      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 14                     | Jammu & Kashmir  | 163 42                  | 25.8          | 3             | 1.8           | 2             | 1.2           | 106           | 65.0          | 9             | 5.5           | 1             | 0.6           | 47            | 29     | 116     | 71      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 15                     | Jharkhand        | 276                     | 162 58.7      | 42            | 15.2          | 17            | 6.2           | 49            | 17.8          | 5             | 1.8           | 1             | 0.4           | 221           | 80     | 55      | 20      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 16                     | Karnataka        | 1316 632                | 48.0          | 181           | 13.8          | 123           | 9.3           | 325           | 24.7          | 33            | 2.5           | 22            | 1.7           | 936           | 71     | 380     | 29      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 17                     | Kerala           | 1334                    | 40.3          | 24            | 1.8           | 6             | 0.4           | 738           | 55.3          | 23            | 1.7           | 6             | 0.4           | 567           | 43     | 767     | 57      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 18 Madhya              | Pradesh          | 1294                    | 537 594 45.9  | 160           | 12.4          | 43            | 3.3           | 372           | 28.7          | 83            | 6.4           | 42            | 3.2           | 797           | 62     | 497     | 38      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 19                     | Maharashtra**    | 3611 1815               | 50.3          | 592           | 16.4          | 262           | 7.3           | 869           | 24.1          | 53            | 1.5           | 20            | 0.6           | 2669          | 74 942 |         | 26      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 20 Meghalaya           | 23               | 13                      | 56.5          | 1             | 4.3           | 0             | 0.0           | 9             | 39.1          | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 14            | 61     | 9       | 39      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 21                     | Nagaland         | 2 0                     | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 1             | 50.0          | 1             | 50.0          | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0      | 2       | 100     | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 22                     | Odhisha          | 1204 762                | 63.3          | 47            | 3.9           | 6             | 0.5           | 366           | 30.4          | 19            | 1.6           | 3             | 0.2           | 815           | 68     | 388     | 32      | 1                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 23                     | Pondicherry      | 6                       | 0 0.0         | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 4             | 66.7          | 2             | 33.3          | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0      | 6       | 100     | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 24                     | Punjab           | 55                      | 22.0          | 10            | 4.0           | 3             | 1.2           | 89            | 38            |               | 15.2          | 54            | 21.6          | 68            | 27     | 181     | 72      | 1                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| Rajasthan              | 250              |                         | 271 28.2      | 89            | 9.3           |               | 7.2           | 288           | 35.6 29.9     | 105           | 10.9          | 14.2          |               | 429           | 45     | 530     | 3       |                         | 0                       | 0                       |
| 25 26                  | 629              | 962 211                 | 33.5          |               |               | 69            | 7.0           | 192           | 30.5          | 55            | 8.7           | 137 62        |               | 319           | 51     |         | 55 49   |                         | 0                       | 0                       |
|                        | Tamil Nadu       |                         |               | 64 121        | 10.2 22.0     | 44            |               |               |               |               |               | 0.5           | 498           | 91            |        | 309     |         | 1                       |                         |                         |
| 27                     | Telangana        | 549 200                 | 36.4          |               |               | 177           | 32.2          | 45            | 8.2           | 3             | 0.5           | 3             | 9.9           |               | 51     | 9       | 0       | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 28                     | Tripura          | 21 18                   | 85.7          | 0             | 0.0           | 0             | 0.0           | 2             | 9.5           | 1             | 4.8           | 0             | 0.0           | 18            | 86 3   | 14      |         | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 29 Uttar               | Pradesh          | 632 264                 | 41.8          | 43            | 6.8           | 14            | 2.2           | 240           | 38.0          | 48            | 7.6           | 23            | 3.6           | 321           | 51 34  | 311     | 49      | 0                       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 30                     | Uttarakhand      | 47 13 264               | 27.7          | 2             | 4.3           | 1             | 2.1           | 21            | 44.7 26.4     | 8 45          | 17.0          | 2             |               | 16            | 59     |         | 31 66   | 41                      | 0                       | 0 0                     |
|                        | Total            | 16355                   | 41.7 44.9     | 65 1731       |               | 999           | 6.1           | 4971          | 30.4          | 738           | 7.1           | 4.3           |               | 10071         |        |         | 6276    | 62                      | 8                       | 0                       |
| 31                     | West Bengal      | 633 7341                |               |               | 10.3 10.6     | 42            | 6.6           | 167           |               |               | 49 4.5        | 7.7 567       | 3.5           | 371           | 261    |         | 1 38    |                         |                         |                         |