Lok Sabha Question No. 4575 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-27
Subject: Annual Ground Water Report of CGWB
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Naveen Jindal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4575

ANSWERED ON 27.03.2025

## ANNUAL GROUND WATER REPORT OF CGWB

## 4575. SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  key  findings  and  progress  made  in  the  2024  annual  groundwater  report  released  by  the  Central Ground Water Board (CGWB);

(b)  the  manner  in  which  the  National  Compilation  on  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of  India,  2024 serves as a foundation for effective ground water management policies and strategies;

(c) the role of water bodies, tanks and conservation structure in contributing to increased recharge and the way in which this reflects the impact of various Governmental initiatives aimed at ground water revival;

(d) the challenges that remain in managing ground water resources along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government to address them in both urban and rural areas; and

(e)  the  future  plans  of  the  Government  to  further  remove  the  ground  water  sustainability  of  the  country, particularly in the regions facing severe water scarcity or ground water depletion?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Assessment  of  Dynamic  groundwater  resources  of  each  State/UT  is  being  carried  out  on  annual  basis jointly by the Central Ground Water Board and the concerned State Nodal/Ground Water Departments. As per  the  report  of  'National  Compilation  of  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of  India,  2024',  the  total annual  groundwater  recharge  in  the  country  has  been  assessed  as  446.9  billion  cubic  metres  (bcm).  Total annual extractable groundwater resource has been assessed as 406.19 bcm and the total annual groundwater extraction for all purposes (like domestic, industrial, agricultural uses etc) is estimated as 245.64 bcm. The Stage of groundwater Extraction (SoE), which is defined as a ratio of Annual Ground Water Extraction over Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource for the whole country is arrived at 60.47 %.

Further, out of the total 6746 assessment units (Blocks/Taluks/Mandals) in the country, 4951 (73.39 %) units are categorized as 'safe', 711 units (10.54 %) as 'Semi-critical'', 206 units (3.05 %) as 'Critical', 751  units  (11.13%)  as  'Over-Exploited  and  remaining  127  assessment  units  (1.88%)  are  placed  under 'Saline' category.

(b) Effective  ground  water  management  requires  a  clear  understanding  of  its  availability,  usage  and challenges.  The  National  Compilation  of  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of  India,  2024,  offers  a comprehensive  overview  of  the  ground  water  scenario  of  the  country,  by  providing  the  details  of  annual ground water recharge, availability and extraction at the Block-level, which is the fundamental unit for policy planning in the country. By adopting a scientific and data-driven approach, the report also proves essential for evaluating the impact of various interventions initiated by both Central and State governments. Providing useful insights into ground water variability with rainfall, land use patterns and industrial development etc. the report helps in informed decision-making, designing effective policies and management strategies.

(c) In  the  recent  years, the cumulative measures for rain water harvesting and artificial recharge to ground water measures undertaken by the central and state governments have had a significant impact in augmenting the ground water resources of the country as well as in enhancing water storage. On comparison between the years  2017  and  2024,  it  can  be  seen  that  ground  water  recharge  happening  from  Tanks,  Ponds  &  Water Conservation Structures (WCS) has increased by 11.36 BCM in the country, i.e. from 13.98 BCM in 2017 to 25.34 BCM in 2024. In addition to this, these structures also enhance water storage, which can be used for multiple purposes like irrigation, drinking etc. thus reducing the stress on ground water extraction.

(d) The key challenges that remain in managing ground water resources in the rural and urban areas of the country, inter alia , include local land right and ownership issues, lack of appropriate information at the field level, non-availability of sufficient pool of skilled personnel at the grassroots level; insufficient coordination among various agencies and stakeholders; securing active and effective community involvement; insufficient institutional capacities at State and local level etc. These issues are being addressed by the government by way of forging common platforms of central and state level officials for effective dialogue and co-ordination, increased  training  and  capacity  building  activities,  extensive  use  of  IEC  activities  for  raising  community awareness on ground water issues etc. In this regard, it is to mention that conceptualizing these aspects in the form of a scheme, the government is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a community led scheme stressing  on  demand  side  management  of  ground  water.  Atal  Jal  incorporates  all  the  above  mentioned approaches in its fold, which are seen as the future of sustainable ground water management in the country.

(e) 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, several significant steps have already been taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and  other  central  ministries  for  sustainable  development  of  ground  water  resources  in  the  country,  while focusing on regions facing water scarcity. All these measures are continuous in nature, which will take care of ground water sustainability in future also, either in existing or modified forms. Some of the important ones 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. 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. M/o  Jal  Shakti  is  implementing  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  which  is  a  community  led  scheme  for participatory ground water management focusing on demand side management of ground water in 80 water stressed districts in 7 States.
- v. 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.
- vi. 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.
- vii. 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.  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.
- viii. 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  the  Hon'ble Prime Minister 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  costeffective, local solutions tailored to specific water challenges across different regions.

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