Lok Sabha Question No. 555 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-22
Subject: Scarcity of Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: P.P. Chaudhary

## 555. SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken note of any instances of scarcity of water in the State of R

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is true that the State of Rajasthan has been facing insta ces of scarcity of water during su prompting locals to walk long distances to access water;

(d) if so, the details thereof including the places where the issue is prevalent and the actions

(e) whether the Government has ta ken ny steps to ensure that pipelines are constructed to increas water; and

(f) if so, the details thereof including the number of such pipelines constructed each year du years including the location of the same and if not, the reas ns therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) &(b) As per the information made available by the Government of Rajasthan, scarcity of water in the isdue to only 1% availability of water against 5.5% population of the country; average rainfall of only 532 mm along with frequent drought due to deficit & scanty rainfall pattern, depletion of water table and availability of only 2 perennial rivers in the state.

The  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of the  country  are  being  periodically  assessed  joint Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2020 assessment, in Rajast Total Annual Ground Water Recharge is 12 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable nd Water Resource is 11 BCM. The Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses is 17 BCM, which is of Annual Extractable Ground Water Resources.

In Rajasthan, out of the total 295 assessment units (Blocks), 203 Blocks have been c 'Over -exploited'  where  Annual  Ground  Water  Extraction  is  more  than  Annual  Extractable  Ground  Water Resources. 23 Blocks have been categorised as 'Critical', 29 Blocks have been categorised as 'Semi -Critical', 3 Blocks have been catergorised as Saline and rest of the Blocks are 'Safe'.

(c)  to  (f)  T he Government  of  Rajasthan i formed  that  the  state  has  been  facing  scarcity  of  water duringsummers in de sert and Eastern part of the State. State Government is taking Short term & measures to provide drinking water in affected rural and urban areas.

Under  short  term  measures,  hand  pump  repairing  campaign, transportation  of  water  by  road commissioning of hand pumps, tube wells, RO Plants, defluoridation plants have been taken up.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 555

ANSWERED ON 22.07 .2021

## SCARCITY OF WATER

long  term  measures, about  8.68  lakh Functional  Household  Tap  Connections  (FHTC)  have  been provided  since  launch  of  the  Jal  Jeevan Mission  (JJM).  Public  Health  Engineering  Department  h started  execution  of  surface  source  based  major  water  supply  projects,  covering  severa villages.

The following works have been executed during last three years, which also include works f pipeline:

- Major Project -20 towns, 4890 villages and 4277 dhanies have been benefited with surface sour through tap connections & Public Stand Posts.
- Urban Sector -2.75 lacs tap connections.
- Rural Sector -8.68 lacs FHTCs.

Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement t State  Governments,  Central  Government  provides  technical  and financial assistance to them through vari schemes and programmes.

Government  of  India  has  launched  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  and  Urban  Transfo (AMRUT) on 25 th June, 2015 in select 500 cities and towns across the country. One of the key obj tives of the Mission is to ensure that every household has access to a tap connection with assured supply o needs to be given first priority by the State while selecting projects under AMRUT. The water su includes new, augment ation and rehabilitation of water supply system; rejuvenation of water bodies water supply and special water supply arrangement for difficult areas, hills and coastal citie having water quality problem. Under AMRUT Mission, o ut of the total plan size of Rs.77, 640 crore, Rs crore (50%) has been allocated to water supply. The State of Rajasthan has been allocated Rs.3, project  implementation  under  AMRUT,  of  which  Rs.1,007.36  crore  has  been  allocated  to  wa ter  supply sector.The  State  has  taken  water  supply  projects  worth  Rs.1022.47  crore,  of  which  7  proj Rs.156.16  crore  have  been  completed  and  24  projects  worth  Rs.866.31  crore  are  at  variou implementation.

The Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Missio - Har Ghar Jal, which aims at providing potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regul basis to every rural household including tribal areas of the country through tap water connection by 2024.

Department of Land Resources has sanctioned, 1025 watershed development projects in Rajasthan c area of about 57.64 lakh hectare during the period 2009 - 10 to 2014 - 15 under the erstwhile Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), later amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component of Pradh Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana in 2015 - 16. The activities undertaken inter alia include ridge area treatment, drainage  line  treatment,  soi l  and  moisture  conservation,  rain  water  harvesting,  nursery  raising,  a horticulture, pasture development, livelihoods for nomadic persons, etc. As per information re State,  since  2014 - 15  to  2020 - 21,  1.48  lakh  water  harvesting  st ructures  have  been  created  /  rejuvenated. additional area of 0.97 lakh ha has been brought under protective irrigation. The end - line  evaluation  reports received  from  state  reveal  that  there  is  significant  improvement  in  availability  of  surface d  water, increase in productivity, vegetative cover, enhanced livelihood opportunities and house hold in areas.

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