Lok Sabha Question No. 1701 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-05
Subject: Groundwater Recharge
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Narayan Tatu Rane

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1701

ANSWERED ON 05.12.2024

## GROUNDWATER RECHARGE

## †1701. SHRI NARAYAN TATU RANE

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  recharge  ground  water  in  water-scarce  cities  of Maharashtra;

(b) whether the Government has any policy for groundwater recharge in Maharashtra;

(c) if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the details of Government policy for monitoring Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) level of groundwater in Maharashtra, district and city-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Though  water  is  a  State  subject,  Central  Government  has  taken  a  number  of  important  measures  for conservation  and  sustainable  management  of  ground  water  and  effective  implementation  of  rain  water harvesting and artificial recharge measures in both rural and urban areas of the country, including in the cities of Maharashtra. Some of the important ones are mentioned below:-

- i. The Government is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country since 2019 in which is a mission  mode  and  time  bound  programme  for  harvesting  the  rainfall  and  taking  up  water conservation activities. Currently, JSA 2024 is being implemented in the country with special focus on 151 water stressed districts of the country, including 7 such districts in Maharashtra. 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. Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  has  prepared  Master  Plan  for  Artificial  Recharge  to Groundwater-  2020  and  shared  it  with  States/UTs  providing  a  broad  outline  for  construction  of around  1.42  crore  rain  water  harvesting  and  artificial  recharge  structures  in  the  country  with estimated cost. Master plan for the state of Maharashtra recommends construction of about 56 lakh structures for harnessing rain-water.

- iii. CGWB is implementing  Ground  Water  Management  &  Regulation  (GWM  &R)  Scheme  under which it has taken up National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme(NAQUIM) with an aim to delineate aquifer disposition and their characterization. Entire mappable area of the country of around 25 lakh sq. km, including 2.59 lakh sq km of Maharashtra, has been mapped under the scheme  and  management  plans  have  been  shared  with  the  respective  State  governments  and District  authorities  for  implementation.  The  management  plans  mainly  focus  on  methods  for sustainable  development  of  ground  water  which  includes  rain  water  harvesting  and  artificial recharge measures.
- iv. Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has formulated guidelines for the States to adopt measures suitable to local conditions, such as Unified Building Bye Laws (UBBL) of Delhi, 2016, Model Building Bye Laws (MBBL), 2016 and Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and  Implementation  (URDPFI)  Guidelines,  2014,  wherein  adequate  focus  has  been  given  on requirement of rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures. As per MBBL, all buildings having  a  plot  size  of  100  sq.m.  or,  more  shall  mandatorily  include  the  complete  proposal  of rainwater harvesting. 35 States/ UTs have adopted the features of these Bye Laws.
- v. For  sustainable  management  of  ground  water  resources  in  urban  areas,  Ministry  of  Housing  & Urban  Affairs  (MoHUA)  has  come  up  with  Shallow  Aquifer  Management(SAM)  project,  to explore  and  showcase  different  ways  in  which  shallow  aquifers  can  be  rejuvenated  in  order  to augment  the  overall  water  security  of  cities.  Various  initiatives  like  revival  of  heritage  wells, injection  borewells,  percolation  beds,  recharge  shafts  etc.  were  taken  up  in  select  10  cities, including  Pune  and  Thane  in  Maharashtra,  resulting  in  visible  improvement  in  ground  water situation in the project areas.
- vi. In  addition  to  the  above,  CGWB  has  constructed  several  artificial  recharge  structures  in  water stressed  areas  of  Maharashtra  like  under  Aspirational  District  Programme  in  Osmanabad  (121 structures), innovative Bridge-cum-Bhandaras (5 structures) in Wardha & Amravati districts etc.

(b) & (c) Water being a State subject, formulation of policy/guidelines for management of water resources is  mainly the responsibility of the States. However, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has formulated the National Water  Policy  (2012)  which, inter-alia, advocates  rainwater  harvesting  and  conservation  of  water  and highlights the need for augmenting the availability of water through direct use of rainfall.

(d) CGWB has adopted a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Ground Water Quality Monitoring in the  country  for  various  chemical  parameters  including  EC/TDS.  As  per  SOP,  a  background  groundwater quality monitoring has been recommended once in 5 years for all monitoring stations across the country and

wherever the contaminants are in excess of prescribed standards, regular trend monitoring of those locations (twice a year; pre and post monsoon) is to be done.

Also Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates ground water quality data including Electrical Conductivity(EC)/Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of the entire country including Maharashtra on a regional scale  as  part  of  its  ground  water  quality  monitoring  program  and  various  scientific  studies.  The  data  of ground water quality is shared with state governments and also placed in public domain through its web site. Analysis of EC/TDS data for May 2023 shows that in various districts of Maharashtra, TDS values ranged from a minimum of 136 in Sindhudurg (average value) to a maximum of 1173 (avg value) in Solapur.

Further,  Department of  Drinking Water  & Sanitation is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in partnership  with  States/UTs  to  provide  potable  tap  water  supply  to  every  rural  household  of  the  country. Water  quality  monitoring  &  surveillance  is  one  of  the  components  of  the  mission.  Under  this,  the  water samples from the villages are regularly tested inter alia for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), through a robust network of drinking water quality testing laboratories at different levels viz. State, Regional, District, subdivision and/ or block level.

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