Lok Sabha Question No. 3018 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-04
Subject: Depleting Ground water Level
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: A. Chellakumar, Mohammad Jawed, Behanan Benny, T.N. Prathapan

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3018

ANSWERED ON 04.08.2022

## DEPLETING GROUND WATER LEVEL

DR. A. CHELLAKUMAR

3018

SHRI BENNY BEHANAN

DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the average rate of depletion of groundwater resources in the country;

(b) the data on annual groundwater exploitation during the last five years;

(c) the number and percentage of districts in each State which face over exploitation of groundwater, State/ UT-wise;

(d) the reasons for poor water management in the country; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to reduce depletion of groundwater in the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) Availability of groundwater resources in an area depends on a number of factors like intensity & period of rainfall,  geological  strata  of  the  area,  number  of  existing  recharge  structures,  extraction  by  consumers  for various  purposes  like  industrial  applications,  drinking/domestic  purposes,  irrigation  etc  and  therefore,  the increase or, depletion rate of the groundwater resources will be different for different areas.

However, the comparison of groundwater extraction between the years 2017 and 2020 (as assessed by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and States) indicates decrease in extraction (on an average for the entire country) from 249 BCM to 245 BCM. Further, in order to assess the long term fluctuation in ground water level, the water level data collected by CGWB (through a set of monitoring network) during November 2021 when compared with the decadal mean of November 2011 to Nov 2020 indicates that about 70 % wells have registered rise in water level whereas, about 30% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water level.

(b) CGWB is not compiling the information with respect to  year-wise extraction of groundwater resources, however, the State-wise details in this regard as assessed by the CGWB in collaboration with States/UTs for the last two assessments viz. for the years 2020 and 2017 are given at Annexure I .

(c) The  groundwater resource estimation in the country is being done at assessment units (blocks, mandals, talukas etc) level. The State-wise details (in percentage terms) of over-exploited assessment units vis-à-vis total number of available assessment units in the States are given at Annexure II.

(d) Increased demand of fresh water for various uses, vagaries of rainfall, increased population; industrialization, urbanization etc. have impacted the sustainable water management in the country, however, sincere efforts are being made by the Government including all stakeholders through policy/site interventions to achieve the desired objective.

(e) Though  water  is  a  State  subject,  Central  Government  has  taken  a  number  of  important  measures  for conservation, management of ground water including effective implementation of rain water harvesting in the country, which can be seen at http://jalshaktidowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps%20taken%20by%20the%20Central%20Govt%20for%20water\_depletion\_ july2022.pdf.

Government of India is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country. First JSA was launched in 2019 in water stressed blocks of 256 districts which continued during the year 2021 (across entire country both  rural  and  urban  areas)  also  with  the  primary  aim  to  effectively  harvest  the  monsoon  rainfall  through creation  of  artificial  recharge  structures,  watershed  management,  recharge  and  reuse  structures,  intensive afforestation and awareness generation etc. JSA for the year 2021 and 2022 were launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister and Hon'ble President on 22.03.2021 and 29.03.2022 respectively.

Hon'ble Prime Minister launched Amrit Sarovar Mission on 24th April 2022. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Central  Government  is  implementing  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  with  an  outlay  of  Rs.  6,000  crore,  in collaboration  with  States,  in  certain  water  stressed  areas  of  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh, Maharashtra,  Rajasthan  and  Uttar  Pradesh.  The  primary  aim  of  the  scheme  is  demand  side  management through scientific means involving the local communities at village levels leading to sustainable groundwater management in the targeted areas.

CGWB is implementing National Aquifer Mapping Program (NAQUIM) with an aim to identify the groundwater aquifer system along-with their characterization for its sustainable management. Out of the total mappable area of nearly 25 lakh sq km, nearly 22.10 lakh sq km of the area (as on 30th June 2022) in the country has been covered. The balance area has been targeted to be covered by March 2023. The NAQUIM study report alongwith management plans are shared with States/UTs for suitable interventions.

The  Central  Government  has  notified groundwater  regulation guidelines dated 24.09.2020  for controlling the extraction of groundwater by various consumers/project proponents like industries, infrastructure  projects  and  mining  projects  under  which  No  Objection  Certificate  (NOC)  for  extraction  has been made mandatory.

Water  is a State subject and several States have done notable work  in the field of water conservation/harvesting  such as  '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, and Kudimaramath scheme in Tamil Nadu.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3018 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 04.08.2022 REGARDING 'DEPLETING GROUND WATER LEVEL'.

State-wise data on ground water exploitation for the assessment years 2017 and 2020

| S. No.   | States / Union Territories   | 2020 2017                                               | 2020 2017                                    | 2020 2017                                  | 2020 2017                                               | 2020 2017                                      | 2020 2017                                  |
|----------|------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | States / Union Territories   | Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource- 2020 (in bcm) | Annual Ground Water Extraction- 2020(in bcm) | Stage of Ground Water Extraction (%) -2020 | Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource- 2017 (in bcm) | Annual Ground Water Extraction - 2017 (in bcm) | Stage of Ground Water Extraction (%) -2017 |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh               | 22.94                                                   | 7.63                                         | 33.26                                      | 20.15                                                   | 8.90                                           | 44.15                                      |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh            | 2.92                                                    | 0.01                                         | 0.36                                       | 2.67                                                    | 0.01                                           | 0.28                                       |
| 3        | Assam                        | 21.97                                                   | 2.58                                         | 11.73                                      | 24.26                                                   | 2.73                                           | 11.25                                      |
| 4        | Bihar                        | 25.46                                                   | 13.02                                        | 51.14                                      | 28.99                                                   | 13.26                                          | 45.76                                      |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                 | 11.55                                                   | 5.35                                         | 46.34                                      | 10.57                                                   | 4.70                                           | 44.43                                      |
| 6        | Delhi                        | 0.29                                                    | 0.29                                         | 101.40                                     | 0.30                                                    | 0.36                                           | 119.61                                     |
| 7        | Goa                          | 0.32                                                    | 0.08                                         | 23.48                                      | 0.16                                                    | 0.05                                           | 33.50                                      |
| 8        | Gujarat                      | 24.91                                                   | 13.30                                        | 53.39                                      | 21.25                                                   | 13.58                                          | 63.89                                      |
| 9        | Haryana                      | 8.63                                                    | 11.61                                        | 134.56                                     | 9.13                                                    | 12.50                                          | 136.91                                     |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh             | 0.97                                                    | 0.36                                         | 36.83                                      | 0.46                                                    | 0.39                                           | 86.37                                      |
| 11       | Jharkhand                    | 5.64                                                    | 1.64                                         | 29.13                                      | 5.69                                                    | 1.58                                           | 27.73                                      |
| 12       | Karnataka                    | 16.40                                                   | 10.63                                        | 64.85                                      | 14.79                                                   | 10.34                                          | 69.87                                      |
| 13       | Kerala                       | 5.12                                                    | 2.65                                         | 51.68                                      | 5.21                                                    | 2.67                                           | 51.27                                      |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh               | 33.38                                                   | 18.97                                        | 56.82                                      | 34.47                                                   | 18.88                                          | 54.76                                      |
| 15       | Maharashtra                  | 30.25                                                   | 16.63                                        | 54.99                                      | 29.90                                                   | 16.33                                          | 54.62                                      |
| 16       | Manipur                      | 0.46                                                    | 0.02                                         | 5.12                                       | 0.39                                                    | 0.01                                           | 1.44                                       |
| 17       | Meghalaya                    | 1.82                                                    | 0.08                                         | 4.22                                       | 1.64                                                    | 0.04                                           | 2.28                                       |
| 18       | Mizoram                      | 0.20                                                    | 0.01                                         | 3.81                                       | 0.19                                                    | 0.01                                           | 3.82                                       |
| 19       | Nagaland                     | 1.95                                                    | 0.02                                         | 1.04                                       | 1.98                                                    | 0.02                                           | 0.99                                       |
| 20       | Odisha                       | 15.71                                                   | 6.86                                         | 43.65                                      | 15.57                                                   | 6.57                                           | 42.18                                      |
| 21       | Punjab                       | 20.59                                                   | 33.85                                        | 164.42                                     | 21.58                                                   | 35.78                                          | 165.77                                     |
| 22       | Rajasthan                    | 11.07                                                   | 16.63                                        | 150.22                                     | 11.99                                                   | 16.77                                          | 139.88                                     |
| 23       | Sikkim                       | 0.86                                                    | 0.01                                         | 0.86                                       | 1.52 18.20                                              | 0.00                                           | 0.06                                       |
| 24 25    | Tamil Nadu Telangana         | 17.69 15.03                                             | 14.67 8.01                                   | 82.93 53.32                                | 12.37                                                   | 14.73 8.09                                     | 80.94 65.45                                |
| 26       | Tripura                      | 1.24                                                    | 0.10                                         | 7.94                                       | 1.24                                                    | 0.10                                           | 7.88                                       |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh                | 66.88                                                   | 46.03                                        | 68.83                                      | 65.32                                                   | 45.84                                          | 70.18                                      |
| 28       | Uttarakhand                  | 1.85                                                    | 0.87                                         | 46.80                                      | 2.89                                                    | 1.64                                           | 56.83                                      |
| 29       | West Bengal*                 | 26.56                                                   | 11.84                                        |                                            | 26.56                                                   | 11.84                                          | 44.60                                      |
| 30       |                              | 0.28                                                    | 0.01                                         | 44.60 2.60                                 | 0.33                                                    | 0.01                                           | 2.74                                       |
|          | Andaman and Nicobar          |                                                         |                                              |                                            |                                                         |                                                |                                            |
| 31       | Chandigarh                   | 0.06                                                    | 0.05                                         | 80.60                                      | 0.04                                                    | 0.03                                           | 89.00                                      |
| 32       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli          | 0.07                                                    | 0.03                                         | 45.99                                      | 0.07                                                    | 0.02                                           | 31.34                                      |
|          | Daman &Diu                   | 0.03                                                    | 0.03                                         | 113.38                                     | 0.02                                                    | 0.01                                           | 61.40                                      |
| 33       | Jammu and Kashmir            | 4.22                                                    | 0.89                                         | 21.03                                      | 2.60                                                    | 0.76                                           | 29.47                                      |
| 34       | Ladakh                       | 0.11                                                    | 0.02                                         | 17.90                                      |                                                         |                                                |                                            |
| 35       | Lakshadweep                  | 0.00                                                    | 0.00                                         | 58.47                                      | 0.00                                                    | 0.00                                           | 65.99                                      |
| 36       | Puducherry                   | 0.20                                                    | 0.15                                         | 74.27                                      | 0.20                                                    | 0.15                                           | 74.33                                      |
|          | Grand Total                  | 397.62                                                  | 244.92                                       | 61.60                                      | 392.70                                                  | 248.69                                         | 63.33                                      |

## ANNEXURE II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3018 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 04.08.2022 REGARDING 'DEPLETING GROUND WATER LEVEL'.

## The State wise details of the over exploited assessment units vis-a-vis available assessment units

| S.No.   | State/Union Territories   | Total No. of Assessed Units   | Over-Exploited Assessment Units   | Over-Exploited Assessment Units   |
|---------|---------------------------|-------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|         |                           |                               | Nos.                              | %                                 |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh            | 667                           | 23                                | 3.45                              |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh         | 11                            |                                   |                                   |
| 3       | Assam                     | 28                            |                                   |                                   |
| 4       | Bihar                     | 534                           | 7                                 | 1.31                              |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh              | 146                           |                                   |                                   |
| 6       | Delhi                     | 34                            | 17                                | 50.00                             |
| 7       | Goa                       | 12                            |                                   |                                   |
| 8       | Gujarat                   | 248                           | 25                                | 10.08                             |
| 9       | Haryana                   | 141                           | 85                                | 60.28                             |
| 10      | Himachal Pradesh          | 10                            |                                   |                                   |
| 11      | Jharkhand                 | 259                           | 3                                 | 1.16                              |
| 12      | Karnataka                 | 227                           | 52                                | 22.91                             |
| 13      | Kerala                    | 152                           |                                   |                                   |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh            | 317                           | 26                                | 8.21                              |
| 15      | Maharashtra               | 353                           | 10                                | 2.83                              |
| 16      | Manipur                   | 9                             |                                   |                                   |
| 17      | Meghalaya                 | 12                            |                                   |                                   |
| 18      | Mizoram                   | 26                            |                                   |                                   |
| 19      | Nagaland                  | 11                            |                                   |                                   |
| 20      | Odisha                    | 314                           |                                   |                                   |
| 21      | Punjab                    | 150                           | 117                               | 78.00                             |
| 22      | Rajasthan                 | 295                           | 203                               | 68.81                             |
| 23      | Sikkim                    | 4                             |                                   |                                   |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu                | 1166                          | 435                               | 37.31                             |
| 25      | Telangana                 | 589                           | 44                                | 7.47                              |
| 26      | Tripura                   | 59                            |                                   |                                   |
| 27      | Uttar Pradesh             | 830                           | 66                                | 7.95                              |
| 28      | Uttarakhand               | 18                            |                                   |                                   |
| 29      | West Bengal*              | 268                           |                                   |                                   |
| 30      | Andaman and Nicobar       | 36                            |                                   |                                   |
| 31      | Chandigarh                | 1                             |                                   |                                   |
| 32      | Dadra &Nagar Haveli       | 1                             |                                   |                                   |
|         | Daman &Diu                | 2                             | 1                                 | 50.00                             |
| 33      | Jammu and Kashmir         | 20                            |                                   |                                   |
| 34      | Ladakh                    | 2                             |                                   |                                   |
| 35      | Lakshadweep               | 9                             |                                   |                                   |
| 36      | Puducherry                | 4                             |                                   |                                   |
|         | Grand Total               | 6965                          | 1114                              | 15.99                             |

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