Lok Sabha Question No. 1461 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: Identification of Water-Stressed Villages under ABY in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Appalanaidu Kalisetti, Dr. Byreddy Shabari

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1461

ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025

## IDENTIFICATION OF WATER-STRESSED VILLAGES UNDER ABY IN ANDHRA PRADESH

## 1461. DR. BYREDDY SHABARI

## SHRI APPALANAIDU KALISETTI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  criteria  adopted  for  identifying  water-stressed  Gram  Panchayats (GPs) under the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY) in the participating States;

(b) the total number of water-stressed villages identified and included under ABY across these States, districtwise;

(c)  the  details  of  the  projects  undertaken  along  with  the  funds  allocated,  released  and  utilized  for  the implementation of ABY since its inception, State-wise;

(d) the details of water-stressed villages in Andhra Pradesh, district-wise, especially in Nandyal; and

(e) whether the Government has any plans to extend the ABY to cover districts like Nandyal in the near future, given that Andhra Pradesh is not currently included under ABY and if so, the details thereof along with the time by which it is likely to be included?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Atal Bhujal Yojana is being implemented in 7 States, viz. Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on pilot basis.  The states were selected according to a number of criteria  including  degree  of  groundwater  exploitation  and  degradation,  established  legal  and  regulatory instruments, institutional readiness and  experience  in implementing  initiatives related  to  groundwater management.

(b) Area covered under Atal Bhujal Yojana in the seven participating states can be seen at https://ataljal.mowr.gov.in/WriteReadData/GeneralNotices/6ebd9724-a9b2-4bb1-a8d5-4843116c4e37\_adbbde\_Master\_List\_ABY\_26072024.pdf

(c) Atal Bhujal Yojana marks a paradigm shift from groundwater development to groundwater management. Salient  features  of  the  scheme  include  community  based  monitoring  and  sharing  of  groundwater  data, planning, capacity building & focused Information, Education & Communication ( IEC ) activities. This is the

first  scheme  to  focus  on  demand  side  interventions  such  as  micro-irrigation,  crop  diversification,  use  of pipelines  etc.  for  conservation  of  groundwater.  GP-wise  Water  Security  Plans  ( WSPs )  having  details  about water  budget  and  proposed  demand  side  interventions  such  as  micro-irrigation,  crop  diversification,  use  of pipelines etc. and supply side interventions such as check dams, farm ponds, recharge shafts and other artificial recharge / water conservation structures are prepared and executed through convergence of ongoing schemes. Major activities completed / ongoing under Atal Jal are as under:

- i. Public  disclosure  of  data  in  all  the  Atal  Jal  GPs  through  various  modes  of  disclosure  viz., central/state web portals, display board at each GP, social media, wall paintings, distribution of pamphlets/brochure, public meetings and Atal Jal Mobile application.
- ii. Preparation of water budgets and community led water security plan for all Atal Jal GPs.
- iii. An  amount  of Rs.4,600 crore has been converged through ongoing/ new  schemes  for implementation of the supply side and demand side measures as proposed under WSPs.
- iv. An  area  of  around  6.7  lakh  Hectares  has  been  brought  under  efficient  water  use  practices including Drip, Sprinkler, Mulching, Crop Diversification etc.
- v. More than 68,000 artificial recharge / water conservation structures have been constructed.
- vi. More than 1.2 lakh trainings have been conducted so far.
- vii. 1,333 GPs and 61 blocks have shown a rise in water levels in 2024

Tentative allocation to each State under the Atal Bhujal Yojana at its inception is provided in the table below:

| State / NPMU                     | Indicative Allocation (in Rs. crore)   |
|----------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Gujarat                          | 756.76                                 |
| Haryana                          | 723.19                                 |
| Karnataka                        | 1,201.52                               |
| Madhya Pradesh                   | 314.54                                 |
| Maharashtra                      | 925.77                                 |
| Rajasthan                        | 1,189.65                               |
| Uttar Pradesh                    | 729.24                                 |
| National Program Monitoring Unit | 159.33                                 |
| Total                            | 6,000.00                               |

State-wise break up of funds disbursed to the States and funds utilised by the States since inception of Atal Bhujal Yojana are provided in the table below:

(in Rs. crore) (as on 06.02.2025)

| State          |   Funds disbursed |   Funds utilised |
|----------------|-------------------|------------------|
| Gujarat        |            522.28 |           440.94 |
| Haryana        |            729.5  |           526.32 |
| Karnataka      |            819.51 |           735.2  |
| Madhya Pradesh |            180.97 |           169.31 |
| Maharashtra    |            506.61 |           504.16 |

| Rajasthan     | 389.53   | 361.43   |
|---------------|----------|----------|
| Uttar Pradesh | 198.53   | 173.22   |
| Total         | 3,346.93 | 2,910.58 |

(d) Assessment of Dynamic Ground Water Resources of each State/UT is being carried out jointly by Central Ground Water Board and State Nodal/Ground Water Department annually since 2022. As per the report of 'National Compilation of Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2024', out of 679 assessment units in Andhra Pradesh, 9 (1.3%) units have been categorized, as 'Over-exploited', 2 units (0.3%) as 'Critical', 38 units  (5.6%)  as  'Semi-Critical',  591  units  (87  %)  as  'Safe'  and  39  units  have  been  categorized  as  'Saline' (5.74%).  Ground  Water  Resource  assessment  in  Andhra  Pradesh  is  carried  out  taking  Mandal  as  a  unit. Nandyal District has 29 assessment units and all of them are categorized under 'Safe' Category. District-wise status of Semi-Critical, Critical, and Over-Exploited assessment units in Andhra Pradesh are provided in the table below:

|     | Name of District            | Total No. Assessed Units   | of Out of which   | of Out of which   | of Out of which   |
|-----|-----------------------------|----------------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|     | Name of District            | Total No. Assessed Units   | Semi Critical     | Critical          | Over Exploited    |
| 1.  | Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore | 37                         | 1                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 2.  | Srikakulam                  | 30                         | 0                 | 1                 | 1                 |
| 3.  | Sri Sathya Sai              | 32                         | 5                 | 1                 | 4                 |
| 4.  | Konaseema                   | 22                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 5.  | Eluru                       | 27                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 6.  | West Godavari               | 20                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 7.  | Bapatla                     | 25                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 8.  | Palnadu                     | 28                         | 1                 | 0                 | 1                 |
| 9.  | Kakinada                    | 21                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 10. | Y.S.R Kadapa                | 36                         | 4                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 11. | Ananthapuramu               | 32                         | 1                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 12. | Chittoor                    | 31                         | 10                | 0                 | 0                 |
| 13. | East Godavari               | 19                         | 4                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 14. | Guntur                      | 18                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 15. | Krishna                     | 25                         | 0                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 16. | Kurnool                     | 26                         | 1                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 17. | Prakasam                    | 38                         | 5                 | 0                 | 3                 |
| 18. | Visakhapatnam               | 11                         | 4                 | 0                 | 0                 |
| 19. | Annamayya                   | 30                         | 2                 | 0                 | 0                 |
|     | Total                       | 508                        | 38                | 2                 | 9                 |

(e) Atal Bhujal Yojana is a pilot project for participatory ground water management with a fixed duration & outlay. Currently, the project is in impact assessment stage.

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