Lok Sabha Question No. 1716 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-05
Subject: Extraction of Ground Water for Commercial and Industrial Purposes
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Dr. K Sudhakar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1716

## ANSWERED ON 05.12.2024

## EXTRACTION OF GROUND WATER FOR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES

## 1716.    DR. K SUDHAKAR

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  study  with  respect  to  over  extraction  of  groundwater  for commercial or industrial purposes across Karnataka and if so, the details thereof;

(b)  whether  it  is  true  that  Sewage  Treatment  Plants  across  major  lakes  of  Karnataka  are  not  effective  in improving the water quality of these lakes and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to reclaim urban lake/wetlands across the country;

(d) the measures taken/being taken by the Government to ensure quality of water made available for drinking purposes by the sewage treatment plants;

(e) the action taken/likely to be taken by the Government to ensure that indirect potable water reuse ensures safe and good quality of water for drinking purposes; and

(f) the details of the projects planned in this regard across the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Water  being  a  state  subject,  sustainable  management  of  water  resources,  including  regulation  of extraction  of  ground  water  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of  the  states.  However,  to  keep  a  tab  on  ground water  situation  of  the  country,  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of  the  country  including  Karnataka  are being annually assessed by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in association with the State Governments. As per the latest (2023) assessment, the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource for Karnataka is 17.08 BCM (Billion Cubic Metre). The Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses is 11.32 BCM, out of which, about 0.13 BCM (1%) has been utilized for industrial activities.

(b) As  per  the  information  received  from  Minor  Irrigation Department  of Karnataka, studies  and analysis have  been  carried  out  by  Indian  Institute  of  Science  (IISc)  and  other  reputed  organization  on  the  Quality aspect of Treated water supplied by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) which is used for tank filling. The test results were meeting all the water quality standards as prescribed.

(c) Reclamation  of  urban  lakes/wetlands  is  mainly  the  mandate  of  urban  municipal  bodies  and  respective state  governments.  However,  the  central  government  on  its  part  has  formulated  the  National  Environment Policy  (NEP),  2006,  which  recognizes  the  importance  of  wetlands  in  the  ecosystem  maintenance  and

emphasizes  on  the  need  to  set  up  a  regulatory  framework  for  all  wetlands.  In  tune  with  this,  Wetlands (Conservation  &  Management)  Rules,  2017  has  been  framed  which  prescribes  constitution  of  Wetland Authority in every State & UT to oversee the conservation, regulation and management of wetlands in their jurisdiction.  Further,  Space  Application  Centre  (SAC),  Ahmedabad  has  prepared  a  National  Wetland Inventory Atlas, mapping all the wetlands in the country.

Further, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs supplements the efforts of the States through various National Missions such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) & AMRUT 2.0.  Rejuvenation  of  water  bodies  is  a  major  component  of  AMRUT  2.0.  So  far,  3,078  water  body rejuvenation projects worth 6,159.29 cr have been approved.

(d)  &  (e) The  National  Water  Policy-2012  mandates  recycle  and  reuse  of  water  as  general  norm  and advocates treatment to specified standards before reuse of waste water. It provides for properly planned tariff system to incentivize reuse of treated water in various sectors including industries, agriculture and others. It mentions  that  reuse  of  urban  waste  water  from  kitchen  and  bathrooms,  after  primary  treatment  should  be encouraged in toilets ensuring no human contact.

Besides, a National Framework on Safe Reuse of Treated Water has also been adopted by Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. The framework will be a guiding document for the States to formulate their Reuse Water Policy and implement the same in a time bound manner. The Framework advocates reuse of treated waste water for various non-potable uses like industrial, agricultural, municipal etc.

(f) Sewerage and Septage Management sector is one of the Mission components under AMRUT under which up to July 2024 total sewage treatment projects of 6,232 Million Litres per Day (MLD) capacity have been approved and, of which, 4,174 MLD sewage treatment capacity has been created and 1,437 MLD capacity has been developed for recycle/reuse.

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