Lok Sabha Question No. 1092 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-08
Subject: Exploitation of Ground Water
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Amar Singh

## 1092.   DR. AMAR SINGH

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the fact that the country exploits more ground water than both  the  United  States  and  China  combined  and  India  has  four  per  cent  of  the  world's  total  fresh-water reserves to meet the needs of our vast population; and

(b)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  initiatives  that  are  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  revolutionise  all aspects of our water usage, including daily use?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) & (b) India is known to be one of the largest users of groundwater in the world and as per 'The United Nations World Water Development Report 2022 - GROUNDWATER Making the invisible visible' India is among top countries with the highest shares in global groundwater withdrawal in 2017.

As  per  the  Ground  Water  Resource  Assessment  Report  for  the  year  2023,  the  annual  extractable groundwater resource for the  country  has  been  assessed  as  407.21  billion  cubic  meter  (bcm)  and  the  total annual groundwater extraction is assessed as 241.34 bcm. Based on this, the overall Stage of Extraction of ground water (SOE) is worked out to be 59.26%.

Water being a State subject, the issues related to development, regulation and management of water resources,  including  ground  water,  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of  the  state  governments.  The  Central Government complements the efforts of the state governments by providing technical support and financial assistance through its institutions and various centrally sponsored schemes.

Some  of  the  important  measures  taken  by  the  Central  Government  for  having  a  better  and  more efficient water management system in the country are listed below: -

- i. National Water Policy (2012) formulated by Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, envisages evolving an agricultural system which economizes on water use and maximizes value from water. The policy which primarily focuses on avoiding water wastage, inter-alia , advocates reuse of urban water effluents from kitchens and bathroomsand incentivizing recovery of industrial pollutants for recycle / reuse. The Policy has been forwarded to all States/UTs concerned Ministries/Departments of Central Government for adoption.
- ii. Bureau of Water Use Efficiency (BWUE) has been set up under MoJS to plan and execute nation-wide program for promotion of efficient use of water in irrigation, domestic water supply, municipal and/or

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1092

## ANSWERED ON 08.02.2024

## EXPLOITATION OF GROUND WATER

iii.

industrial uses in the country. The BWUE has also been tasked with prescribing guidelines for water conservation codes; Developing standards for water efficient fixtures, appliances, sanitary wares etc; Evolving a system of efficiency labeling/ blue labeling; Promote research and development in the field of water & capacity building in collaboration with states.

- The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under MoJS for the purpose of regulation and control of ground water abstraction. Abstraction cum use of Groundwater in the country is  regulated  by  CGWA by  way  of  issuing  NOCs  as  per  the  provisions  of  its  Guidelines  dated 24.09.2020 which have pan India applicability. As per the Guidelines, infrastructure projects drawing groundwater  20KLD  or  more  are  required  to  install  STP  and  use  the  treated  water  for  greenbelt development/ washing of cars etc. Further, industries abstracting ground water in excess of 100 KLD are  required  to  undertake  biennial  water  audit,  which  should  recommend  reduction  in  water consumption through recycle/ reuse.
- iv. Government  of  India,  in  partnership  with  States,  is  implementing  Jal  Jeevan  Mission  (JJM)  since August, 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household in the country. Under JJM, for villages in water-scarce areas, in order to save the precious fresh water, States are being encouraged to plan new water supply scheme with dual piped water supply system, i.e. supply of fresh water in one and treated grey/ waste water in another pipe for non-potable/ gardening/ toilet flushing use.
- v. Government  of  India  is  implementing  Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan  (JSA)  in  the  country  since  2019  which mainly focuses on effectively harvesting 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 2023 have been launched by Hon'ble President of India on 04 March 2023 with the theme 'Source Sustainability for Drinking Water'.
- vi. Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  (MoJS)  has  launched  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  in  8213  water  stressed  Gram Panchayats of 7 states, which is a community led scheme for participatory ground water management focusing  on  demand  side  management  of  ground  water.  Under  this  scheme,  inter  alia,  states  are incentivized for adopting water efficient agricultural practices like switching over to drips/sprinklers, crop diversification to less water intensive crops, mulching etc.
- vii. In addition to the above, several other important measures have been taken by the Central Government for improving the water scenario in India, especially that of ground water and they   can be seen at https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploads/2023/02/2023021742.p df
- viii. Furthermore, a number of States have done notable work in the field of water conservation/harvesting such  as  'Mukhyamantri  Jal  SwavlambanAbhiyan'  in  Rajasthan,  'JalyuktShibar'  in  Maharashtra, 'SujalamSufalamAbhiyan'  in  Gujarat,  'Mission  Kakatiya'  in  Telangana,  NeeruChettu'  in  Andhra Pradesh, Jal JeevanHariyali in Bihar, 'Jal Hi Jeevan' in Haryana, and Kudimaramath scheme in Tamil Nadu etc.

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