Lok Sabha Question No. 2463 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-13
Subject: Rate of Groundwater Depletion in different States
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Ashish Dubey, Shri Dharambir Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2463

ANSWERED ON 13.03.2025

## RATE OF GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN DIFFERENT STATES

## †2463. SHRI ASHISH DUBEY

## SHRI DHARAMBIR SINGH

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  it  is  true  that  the  volume  of  groundwater  is  continuously  depleting  in  most  areas  of  the country;

(b)  if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  survey  or  assessed  the  rate  of  groundwater depletion in different  States  of  the  country,  especially  in  States  like  Punjab,  Haryana,  Rajasthan  and Jabalpur division of Madhya Pradesh during the last five years and if so, the details thereof along with the current status of groundwater level;

(c) the reasons behind the rapid decline of groundwater levels, including over-extraction, deforestation and inefficient irrigation practices;

(d) the measures  taken/being  taken by the Government  to  promote  rainwater  harvesting  and groundwater recharge across urban and rural areas;

(e) whether the Government is implementing stricter regulations on industries and businesses that overextract groundwater and if so, the details thereof; and

(f)  the  details  of  any  financial  schemes  or  incentives  to  encourage  farmers  to  adopt  water  efficient irrigation methods such as drip and sprinkler irrigation?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Assessment  of  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of  the  country  is  being  annually  carried  out jointly  by  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  and  the  concerned  State  Nodal/Ground  Water Department. On comparison of data from 2017 assessment to that of 2024, it is seen that total annual ground  water  recharge  in  the  country  has  increased  from  432  Billion  Cubic  Meters  (BCM)  to  446.9 BCM and total extractable ground water in the country has increased from 393 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) to 406 BCM during the period. Further, the Stage of Ground Water Extraction (SoE), which is defined  as  a  ratio  of  total  annual  ground  water  extraction  for  all  purposes  to  total  annual  extractable ground water resources, has decreased from 63% to 60.47% during the same period, indicating overall improvement in the ground water situation of the country, albeit with regional variations.

(b) Comparative figures of total extractable ground water for the years 2017 and 2024 available in the states  of  Punjab,  Haryana,  Rajasthan  and  Jabalpur  division  of  Madhya  Pradesh  are  provided  in Annexure -I. Further, a measure of fluctuation of ground water level in the said states by comparing the post monsoon 2024 water level to mean of previous five years is provided in Annexure -II.

(c) Growing need of rapid industrialization, continuous urbanization, population growth, inclination of farmers towards water intensive crops, clubbed with the effect of climate change are known to be the major factors putting stress on ground water resources of the country.

d) 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, the important steps taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other central ministries for improving the ground water levels and sustainable development of ground water resources in the country 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 2024 is being implemented in the country with special focus on 151 water stressed districts of the country. 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  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. CGWB 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  has  been  mapped  under  the  scheme  and  management plans, including recommendations for artificial recharge have been shared with the respective State governments for implementation.
- iv. 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.
- v. 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 Prime Minister Narendra  Modi  on  September  6,  2024,  in  Surat,  Gujarat  with  a  vision  to  make  rain  water harvesting  a  mass  movement  in  the  country.  By  promoting  community  ownership  and

responsibility, the initiative seeks to develop cost-effective, local solutions tailored to specific water challenges across different regions.

- vi. Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban  Affairs  (MoHUA)  has  formulated  Model  Building  Bye  Laws (MBBL), 2016 for the States/UTs, 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 the Model Bye Laws.
- vii. Ministry of Jal Shakti has circulated a Model Bill to all the States/UTs to enable them to enact suitable  ground  water  legislation  for  regulation  of  its  development,  which  also  includes provisions  for  rain  water  harvesting  and  ground  water  recharge.  So  far,  21  States/UTs  have adopted and implemented the ground water legislation.

(e) Extraction cum use of Groundwater in the country is regulated by Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) in most of the states 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,  Environmental  Compensation (EC) charges are being levied on the projects extracting ground water without a valid NOC. Further, provisions for strict penalties have also been made for violation of NOC conditions, over-extraction of ground water, non-installation of piezometers/water flow meters meant for measuring the ground water extracted etc.

(f) GoI is continuously encouraging the states to impress upon their farmers to adopt water efficient irrigation techniques for conservation of ground water. In this regard, currently, the following schemes are being implemented for providing impetus to switching over to micro irrigation :

- i. The Central Government is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana in 80 water stressed districts in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar  Pradesh.  The  primary  aim  of  the  scheme  is  demand  side  management  through scientific  means based on water budgeting of the area involving the local communities at village  levels  leading  to  sustainable  groundwater  management  in  the  targeted  areas. Promoting  water efficient irrigation practices like use of drips and sprinklers and incentivizing the farmers to switch over to less water intensive crops are major focus areas under Atal Jal Scheme.
- ii. 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.

***

## ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION  NO.  *2463 TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  13.03.2025  REGARDING  'RATE  OF GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN DIFFERENT STATES'

Comparative Ground Water Resource Assessment for Punjab State, Haryana State, Rajasthan State and Jabalpur Division of Madhya Pradesh (2017 & 2024)

| S. No   | State/ Region     | AnnualGW Recharge (BCM)   |   AnnualGW Recharge (BCM) |   Annual Extractable GWResource (BCM) |   Annual Extractable GWResource (BCM) |   AnnualGW Extraction for All Uses (BCM) |   AnnualGW Extraction for All Uses (BCM) |   Stage of Extraction (SOE) (%) |   Stage of Extraction (SOE) (%) |
|---------|-------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|         |                   | 2017                      |                   2024    |                               2017    |                               2024    |                                  2017    |                                  2024    |                         2017    |                         2024    |
| 1       | Punjab            | 23.93                     |                     19.19 |                                 21.58 |                                 17.63 |                                    35.78 |                                    27.66 |                          165.77 |                          156.87 |
| 2       | Haryana           | 10.15                     |                     10.32 |                                  9.13 |                                  9.36 |                                    12.5  |                                    12.72 |                          136.91 |                          135.96 |
| 3       | Rajasthan13.21    |                           |                     12.58 |                                 11.99 |                                 11.37 |                                    16.77 |                                    17.05 |                          139.88 |                          149.86 |
| 4       | Jabalpur Division | 6.19                      |                      5.68 |                                  5.83 |                                  5.38 |                                     2.38 |                                     2.52 |                           40.82 |                           46.88 |

Narsimhapur&Seoni districts of Madhya Pradesh.

## ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.  *2463 TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  13.03.2025  REGARDING  'RATE  OF  GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN DIFFERENT STATES'

State-wise Water Level Fluctuation (in meters) with Mean (Post-Monsoon 2019 to 2023) and PostMonsoon 2024 (Unconfined Aquifer) for Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan

| S.No.   | State/ Region     | No of wells anal ysed   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells in different fluctuation ranges in meters Total   | No. of wells   | No. of wells   | No. of wells   | No. of wells   |
|---------|-------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| S.No.   | State/ Region     | No of wells anal ysed   | 0 to 2 (m)                                                     | Rise % 2 to 4 (m)                                              | %                                                              | > 4 (m)                                                        | %                                                              | 0 to 2 (m)                                                     | %                                                              | Fall 2 to 4 (m)                                                | %                                                              | > 4 (m)                                                        | %                                                              | Rise                                                           | %              |                | Fall           | %              |
| 1       | Haryana           | 163                     | 61                                                             | 37.411                                                         | 6.7                                                            | 7                                                              | 4.357                                                          |                                                                | 35                                                             | 19                                                             | 11.78                                                          |                                                                | 4.9                                                            | 79                                                             | 48.5           |                | 84             | 51.5           |
| 2       | Punjab            | 174                     | 43                                                             | 24.79                                                          | 5.2                                                            | 4                                                              | 2.374                                                          |                                                                | 42.530                                                         |                                                                | 17.213                                                         |                                                                | 7.5                                                            | 56                                                             |                | 32.2           | 117            | 67.2           |
| 3       | Rajasthan 824     | Rajasthan 824           | 263                                                            | 31.9120                                                        |                                                                | 14.6132                                                        | 16                                                             | 163                                                            | 19.861                                                         |                                                                | 7.4                                                            | 85                                                             |                                                                |                                                                | 10.3515        | 62.5           | 309            | 37.5           |
| 4       | Jabalpur Division | 179                     | 53                                                             | 29.66                                                          | 3.4                                                            | 5                                                              |                                                                | 2.8102                                                         | 57                                                             | 9                                                              | 5                                                              | 3                                                              | 1.7                                                            | 64                                                             |                | 35.8           | 114            | 63.7           |

Jabalpur Division includes Balaghat, Chhindwara, Dindori, Jabalpur, Katni, Mandla, Narsimhapur&Seoni districts of Madhya Pradesh.

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