Lok Sabha Question No. 281 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-08
Subject: Draining of River Water into Sea
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: A. Ganeshamurthi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 281

ANSWERED ON 08.12.2022

## DRAINING OF RIVER WATER INTO SEA

## 281 SHRI A. GANESHAMURTHI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:-

(a) the amount of excess water in various rivers that drains into sea in the country, in quantity and in terms of percentage;

(b) whether there is any scheme in the Ministry to store water that drains into sea and to reduce the amount of water that goes as waste;

- (c) if so, the details thereof; and

(d)  the  details  of  other  measures  taken  to  conserve  and  save  water  resources  in  the  country  for  overall development?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) Central  Water  Commission  (CWC)  under  this  Ministry  has  been  mandated  to  be  repository  of hydrological observation data on various rivers across the country. Based on CWC data,  decadal average flow of the last 2 decades, i.e., 2001-2011 and 2011-2021, at the terminal sites of 13 major rivers is annexed herewith.

(b) & (c) The State Governments concerned are to plan, fund, execute and maintain water resources projects in  their  respective  jurisdiction.  Many  of  these  projects  involve  storage  of  monsoon  flows  in  the  river,  to reduce flows into the sea.

In  order  to  assist  the  State  Governments,  this  Ministry  provides  technical  assistance  as  well  as  partial financial assistance to a few identified projects, under the ongoing schemes. Some of the schemes of this Ministry whereby financial assistance is being given to the State Governments for creating storages include Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, Surface Minor Irrigation and Repair, Renovation and Restoration of water bodies under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY); National Projects scheme, Special Package for Maharashtra; as well as some specific projects included for financial assistance from time to time by the Government of India.

- (d) Water being a State subject, it is for the States concerned to conserve and save water resources in their respective jurisdiction. However, in order to augment their efforts, Government of India provides technical guidance  as  well  as  financial  assistance  under  its  existing  schemes.  Some  of  the  initiatives  taken  by Government of India in this regard, are as below:
1. Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM) programme under PMKSY provides financial assistance for bridging the gap between irrigation potential created and irrigation potential utilized, and participatory irrigation management.
2. Atal Bhujal Yojana provides financial assistance for sustainable management of groundwater resources with community participation in selected areas of 81 districts, 222 blocks and 8,774 water stressed Gram Panchayats of 7 States.
3. Ministry of Jal Shakti has been taking up annual nationwide campaign 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan - Catch the Rain' (JSA:CTR) for creating appropriate rainwater harvesting structures in urban and rural areas of all the districts  in  the  country,  with  peoples'  active  participation.  Creation  of  new  and  maintenance  of  old Rainwater  harvesting  structures;  revival  of  traditional  rainwater  harvesting  structures  like  step-wells  etc; enumeration,  geo-tagging  and  making  inventory  of  all  water  bodies;  preparation  of  scientific  water conservation plans; setting up of Jal Shakti Kendras and intensive afforestation are part of the campaign.
4. National Aquifer Mapping and Management program (NAQUIM) is being implemented by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and initiated as a part  of  the  Ground  Water  Management  and  Regulation scheme to delineate and characterize the aquifers to develop plans for ground water management.
5. Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing centrally sponsored scheme of Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) in the country from 2015-16. PDMC focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through micro irrigation, viz, drip and sprinkler irrigation systems.
6. Implementation  of  watershed  development  projects  in  28  states  under  Watershed  Development component (WDC) of PMKSY, is being implemented by Department of Land Resources.
7. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has provisions for public works  relating  to  natural  resource  management,  water  conservation  and  water  harvesting  structures  to augment and improve ground water like underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams, check dams and roof top rain water harvesting structures in public buildings.
8. Irrigation assets are being with provision of central assistance to the States under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) being implemented by Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.
9. Rejuvenation  of  water  bodies  is  also  a  component  under  Water  Supply  sector  of  Atal  Mission  for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Scheme under Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. Further, AMRUT 2.0 launched in October, 2021, with a total outlay of Rs. 2,99,000 crore targets to promote circular  economy  of  water  through  development  of  city  water  balance  plan  for  each  city  focusing  on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation.
10. To commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), marking 75 years of independence from British rule, Government of India has also launched a campaign to take up creation/ rejuvenation of 75 water bodies, to be called Amrit Sarovars, in every district of the country. The campaign is scheduled till August, 2023.

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ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  THE  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 281 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.12.2022 REGARDING 'DRAINING OF RIVER WATER INTO SEA'

## Details of Average Decadal Flow in Major Rivers in the country for the period from 2001 to 2021 (in billion cubic meter)

|   S. No. | Name of River   | Name of Last Discharge Observation Station   | Name of State   |   Average Decadal Flow 2001 to 2011 |   Average Decadal Flow 2011 to 2021 |
|----------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------|-----------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
|        1 | Ganga           | Farakka                                      | West Bengal     |                             315.423 |                             310.062 |
|        2 | Brahmaputra     | Panchratna                                   | Assam           |                             483.541 |                             470.454 |
|        3 | Teesta          | Domohani                                     | West Bengal     |                              21.318 |                              24.094 |
|        4 | Krishna         | Wadenpally                                   | Andhra Pradesh  |                              18.764 |                              12.993 |
|        5 | Godavari        | Polavaram                                    | Andhra Pradesh  |                              80.827 |                              86.219 |
|        6 | Mahanadi        | Tikrapara                                    | Odisha          |                              50.489 |                              51.404 |
|        7 | Cauvery         | Musiri                                       | Tamil Nadu      |                               6.969 |                               4.352 |
|        8 | Brahmani        | Jenapur                                      | Odisha          |                              16.304 |                              16.493 |
|        9 | Subernrekha     | Ghatshila                                    | Jharkhand       |                               6.686 |                               7.348 |
|       10 | Narmada         | Garudeshwar                                  | Gujarat         |                              18.953 |                              23.337 |
|       11 | Baitarni        | Anandpur                                     | Odisha          |                               4.352 |                              10.47  |
|       12 | Mahi            | Khanpur                                      | Gujarat         |                               4.541 |                               5.456 |
|       13 | Sabarmati       | Voutha                                       | Gujarat         |                               2.649 |                               2.144 |

Note: Year has been taken as water year, being from June

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