Lok Sabha Question No. 1819 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-05
Subject: Per Capita Water Availability
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Haribhai Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1819

ANSWERED ON 05.12.2024

## PER CAPITA WATER AVAILABILITY

## 1819.    SHRI HARIBHAI PATEL

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that per capita water availability in the country is declining as a result of the rise in population and if so, the details of likely per capita water availability by 2030, yearwise;

(b)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  per  capita  water  availability  and  the outcome thereof; and

(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to reduce groundwater dependency along with the funds allocated and utilised for the same during the last five years and the current year?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) The  average annual water availability of any region or country is largely  dependent  upon hydrometeorological  and  geological  factors,  however,  water  availability  per  person  is  dependent  on population  of  a  country.  The  per  capita  water  availability  in  the  country  is  reducing  due  to  increase  in population. Based on the study titled 'Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs, 2019' conducted by Central Water Commission, the average annual per capita water availability for year 2021 and 2031 has been assessed as 1486 cubic meter and 1367 cubic meter respectively.

(b) & (c) 'Water' being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water  resources  which  positively  impact  over  the  issue  of  per  capita  water  availability  are  primarily undertaken  by  the  respective  State  Governments.  In  order  to  supplement  the efforts of the State Governments,  Central  Government  provides  technical  and  financial  assistance  to  them  through  various schemes and programmes.

Government  of  India,  in  partnership  with  State,  is  implementing  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  (JJM)  since August, 2019 to make provision of tap water supply to every rural household of the country. At the time of announcement  of  the  Mission,  only  3.23  Crore  (17%)  rural  households  had  tap  water  supply.  Since  the launch  of  the  Mission,  more  than  12.09  Crore  have  been  provided  with  tap  water  connection  and  as  on 03.12.2024. Thus, out of 19.34 Crore rural household, around 15.33 Crore (79.24%) rural households are presently getting tap water supply.

Government of India has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) launched  in  2015  which  focuses  on  development  of  basic  urban  infrastructure  especially  water  supply  & access to tap connection to every household in 500 cities. So far 1,390 projects worth ₹ 43,241.8 crore have been  grounded  including  1,180  completed  projects  worth  ₹  29,310  crore.  Through  these  projects  &  in convergence with other programmes, 189 lakh household water tap connections have been provided.

Taking it forward, AMRUT 2.0 has been launched in 2021 which covers all the statutory towns of the country to ensure universal coverage of water supply & make cities 'water secure'. For availability of quality water  supply,  so  far,  3,596  water  supply  projects  worth  ₹  1,14,073.65  crore  (including  O&M)  have  been approved by Apex Committee at Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

To  ensure  optimum utilization  of  water,  Government  of  India  has  been  implementing  Pradhan  Mantri Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojna  (PMKSY)  from  2015-16  onwards.  Under  PMKSY-Accelerated  Irrigation  Benefit Programme  (AIBP),  99  ongoing  major/medium  irrigation  projects  were  prioritized  during  2016-17,  in consultation with States. Out of these projects, AIBP works of 62 prioritized projects have been reported to be  completed.  An  additional  irrigation  potential  of  25.80  lakh  hectare  has  been  reported  to  be  created  by these projects in the country, during 2016-17 to 2023-2024. The extension of PMKSY for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 has been approved by Government of India, with an overall outlay of Rs. 93,068.56 crore. The scheme of Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation & Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies are being implemented under PMKSY-HKKP.

The Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched on National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April, 2022 as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with an objective to conserve water for future. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan-I (JSA-I) was conducted in 2019 in 1592 blocks out of 2836 blocks in 256 water stressed districts of the country and was expanded as 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain' (JSA: CTR) in 2021 with the theme 'Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls' to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country. Now, the fifth edition of JSA: CTR 2024 has been launched on  March  9,  2024  across  the  country.  Following  water  related  works/  afforestation  works  have  been completed/ ongoing during the JSA: CTR 2024.

| Water related works across the country in JSA: CTR 2024       | Water related works across the country in JSA: CTR 2024   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| Water Conservation and Rainwater Harvesting Structures        | 8,70,757                                                  |
| Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies                        | 2,13,586                                                  |
| Reuse and Recharge Structures                                 | 3,59,188                                                  |
| Watershed Development                                         | 13,85,664                                                 |
| Intensive Afforestation                                       | 5,46,37,190                                               |
| No. of districts where Jal Shakti Kendra has been established | 700                                                       |
| No. of Districts that have prepared water conservation plan   | 614                                                       |

The Bureau of Water Use Efficiency (BWUE) has been set up for promotion, regulation and control of  efficient  use  of  water  in  irrigation,  industrial  and  domestic  sector.  The  Bureau  will  be  a  facilitator  for

promotion of improving water use efficiency across various sectors namely irrigation, drinking water supply, power generation, industries, etc. in the country.

Central  Ground  Water  Board  is  periodically  monitoring  the  ground  water  levels  throughout  the Country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. In order to assess the decline in water level  on  a  long-term  basis,  the  water  level  data  collected  by  CGWB  during  November  2023  has  been compared with the decadal average (2013-2022). Analysis of water level data indicates that about 51.70% of the  wells  monitored  have  registered  rise  in  ground  water  levels.  The  rise  in  ground  water  level  is  the cumulative effect of the both Central and State Governments initiatives.

Government  of  India  is  implementing  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  a  Central  Sector  Scheme  in  identified water stressed areas of 8203 Gram Panchayats under 229 blocks in 80 districts of Seven States viz. Gujarat, Haryana,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Rajasthan  and  Uttar  Pradesh  with  an  aim  to  arrest decline in ground water level through community led sustainable groundwater management. Allocation and utilisation of funds for Atal Bhujal Yojana since its inception is as given below:

(Amount in Rs. crore)

| Financial Year   |   Funds Allocated | Funds Utilized          |
|------------------|-------------------|-------------------------|
| 2020-21          |            125    | 123.03                  |
| 2021-22          |            330    | 327.48                  |
| 2022-23          |            700    | 637.64                  |
| 2023-24          |           1774.57 | 1738.21                 |
| 2024-25          |           1778    | 71.24 (Till 25.11.2024) |

Central  Ground  Water  Authority (CGWA)  has  been  constituted  under  Section  3(3) of the "Environment (Protection) Act, 1986" for the purpose of regulation and control of ground water development and  management  in  the  Country.  CGWA  grants  No  Objection  Certificates  (NOCs)  for  ground  water abstraction  to  Industries,  Infrastructure  units  and  Mining  projects  in  feasible  areas  in  certain  States/UTs where  regulation  is  not  being  done  by  the  respective  State/UTs.  CGWA  also  issues  notifications  and directions  to  State  Governments  and  the  Administrators  of  the  UTs  to  adopt  Roof  Top  Rain  Water Harvesting (RTRWH) in all the 'Critical' and 'Over-exploited' assessment units (blocks / Taluks / Firkas / Districts / Valley / Islands / Region / Tehsil, etc. in the country and in all the Government buildings under their jurisdiction.

Important  steps  taken  by  the  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  and  other  Central  Ministries  for  Water conservation,  Control  and  regulation  of  ground  water  and  to  promote  rainwater  harvesting  /  artificial recharge/ water use efficiency etc. can be seen at the URL:

https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploads/2024/07/2024071670 6354487.pdf

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