Lok Sabha Question No. 1986 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Law for Management of Groundwater
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Smt. Vijaylakshmi Devi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1986

## ANSWERED ON 31.07.2025

## LAW FOR MANAGEMENT OF GROUNDWATER

## †1986. SMT. VIJAYLAKSHMI DEVI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the States in the country are facing a water crisis and aquifers are depleting, particularly in Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c)  whether  half  of  the  groundwater  in  the  country  is  contaminated  leading  to  occurrence  of  various water-borne diseases among the population of the country and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government has identified dark zones and formulated a model law for the conservation, safety, regulation and management of groundwater in the country, particularly in Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and if so, the details thereof; and

(e)  the  details  of  other  measures  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  for  the  conservation  and recharging of groundwater level in the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) & (b) The Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country including Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh States are being annually assessed by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in coordination with respective State Governments. Comparison of data between the years 2020 and 2024 indicates that, during the subject period, annual ground water recharge in the country has increased from 436.15 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) to 446.90 BCM and the Stage of Ground water Extraction (SoE), has improved from 61.6% to 60.47%. However, there may be isolated pockets experiencing ground water stress due to localized conditions. Analysis of ground water resources data for the states of Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for the subject period indicates that annual ground water recharge has increased in three states other than Punjab and SoE also has shown improvement in three states other than Haryana. Further details are provided in Annexure.

(c) Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  generates  ground  water  quality  data  of  the  country  on  a regional scale as part of its ground water quality monitoring program and various scientific studies. These studies  indicate  that  ground  water  in  the  country  largely  remains  potable.  However,  occurrence  of contaminants such as Fluoride, Arsenic, Nitrate, heavy metals etc. beyond permissible limits (as per BIS) for  human consumption is observed in certain isolated pockets in some States / UTs. Nonetheless, the Government is taking adequate care to ensure that  every  rural  household  in  the  country  has  access  to

regular and adequate amount of safe drinking water by implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission -Har Ghar Jal scheme.

(d) As  per  the  National  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Assessment Report 2024, there are totally 751 OverExploited (OE) assessment units (previously referred to as Dark zones) in the country out of 6746 total assessed. In the states of Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, the number of such OE units have been assessed as 4, 115 and 88 respectively and in Himachal Pradesh there are no OE units.

In order to facilitate the states in their endeavour towards proper regulation and management of ground water resources, this Ministry had drafted a Model  'Groundwater  (Regulation  and Control of Development and Management) Bill' providing a regulatory framework to curb indiscriminate extraction of  ground  water  while  also  making  provisions  for  rain  water  harvesting  and  artificial  recharge.  The Model Bill  has  been  circulated  to  all  States/UTs  and  so  far  21  States/UTs  have  adopted  it,  including Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

(e) Water being a State subject, sustainable development and management of groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. However, the Central Government facilitates the efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial assistance through its various schemes and projects.  In this direction, several significant steps have already been taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other central ministries for sustainable development of ground water resources in the country, while focusing on regions facing water scarcity. Some of the important ones are given below:-

- i. The Government is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country since 2019 which is a mission mode and time bound programme for harvesting the rainfall and taking up water conservation activities. Currently, JSA 2025 is being implemented in the country with special focus  on  over-exploited  and  critical  districts.  JSA  is  an  umbrella  campaign  under  which various  ground  water  recharge  and  conservation  related  works  are  being  taken  up  in convergence with various central and state schemes.
- ii. Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by the CGWB for the entire country, including  Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and shared with States/UTs providing a broad outline for construction of around 1.42 crore rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 BCM (Billion cubic meter).
- iii. The government of India is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana in 80 water stressed districts of 7  states  which  has  community  led  sustainable  management  of  ground  water  resources  and demand management as its core theme.
- iv. Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare (DA & FW), GoI, is implementing Per Drop More  Crop  Scheme  in  the  country,  since  2015-16, which  focuses  on  enhancing  water  use efficiency  at  farm  level  through  Micro  Irrigation  and  better  on-farm  water  management practices to optimize the use of available water resources.
- v. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India which aimed at developing and  rejuvenating  at  least  75  water  bodies  in  each  district  of  the  country.  As  an  outcome nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated in the country.
- vi. To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: A Community-Driven Path to Water Sustainability in India has been launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister with a vision to make rain water harvesting a mass movement in the country by promoting community ownership.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1986  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  31.07.2025  REGARDING  'LAW  FOR MANAGEMENT OF GROUNDWATER'.

Comparative Details of Dynamic Ground Water Resources of Bihar, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh between the years 2020 and 2024.

| S. No.   | Parameter                   |      | GWResource Assessment for   | GWResource Assessment for   | GWResource Assessment for   | GWResource Assessment for   |
|----------|-----------------------------|------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
|          |                             | Year | Bihar                       | Punjab                      | Haryana                     | Himachal Pradesh            |
| 1        | Annual GWRecharge (in       | 2024 | 34.15                       | 19.19                       | 10.32                       | 1.11                        |
|          | BCM)*                       | 2020 | 28.05                       | 22.80                       | 9.53                        | 1.07                        |
| 2        | Annual ExtractableGW        | 2024 | 30.95                       | 17.63                       | 9.36                        | 1.01                        |
|          | Resource (in BCM)           | 2020 | 25.46                       | 20.59                       | 8.63                        | 0.97                        |
| 3        | Annual GWExtraction for all | 2024 | 14.10                       | 27.66                       | 12.72                       | 0.36                        |
|          | uses (in BCM)               | 2020 | 13.02                       | 33.85                       | 11.61                       | 0.36                        |
| 4        | Stage of GWExtraction (SoE) | 2024 | 45.54%                      | 156.87%                     | 135.96%                     | 35.48%                      |
|          |                             | 2020 | 51.14%                      | 164.42%                     | 134.56%                     | 36.83%                      |

*BCM - Billion Cubic Meters

*****