Lok Sabha Question No. 2525 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-13
Subject: Groundwater Depletion in Drought-prone Areas
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2525

ANSWERED ON 13.03.2025

## GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN DROUGHT-PRONE AREAS

## 2525. SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is addressing groundwater depletion especially in drought-prone area/States; (b) if so, the details of investments made/being made in destination plants to address water scarcity; and

- (c) the way in which the Government ensure fair water distribution between States with ongoing river disputes?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Water being  a  State  subject,  the  responsibility  of  addressing  the  ground  water  related  issues  lies primarily with the concerned 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 improvement of ground water resources of the country, with special focus on drought prone and water stressed regions, 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. 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.  The  Scheme  is  currently  in  operation  in  80  districts  in  7  States,  which  have  been identified, among other factors, based on the degree of water stress being faced by them.
- iii. Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by the Central Ground Water Board (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).

- iv. 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. The scheme is of immense benefit to drought prone regions of the country with limited water available for irrigation purposes.
- v. 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, for the purpose of increasing water storage and boosting ground water recharge. As an outcome nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated in the country.
- vi. M/o Jal Shakti is promoting conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater and to reduce over-dependence on groundwater, surface water based Major and Medium irrigation projects have  been  taken  up  in  the  country  under  PMKSY-AIBP  scheme  in  collaboration  with States/UTs.

(b) Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal, since August 2019, to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity to every rural  household  in  the  country.  As  per  the  operational  guidelines  of  the  JJM,  in  coastal  areas, augmentation of water supply services can be done with energy efficient small desalination plants with high recovery ratio. However, it is for the states to devise suitable projects for setting up desalination plants as per their requirements and feasibility. As per the information available on the JJM dashboard, it is seen that from the beginning of the Scheme in 2019 to 2024-25 (up to the month of February) funds to the tune of Rs. 4.3 lakh cr were allocated by the central government and an amount of Rs. 3.73 lakh cr. has  been  spent  towards  providing  safe  drinking  water  to  more  than  12.1  cr  rural  households  in  the country, which includes addressing of water salinity and scarcity issues.

In  addition  to  the  above,  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences,  through  its  autonomous  Institute,  National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), has set up eight Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) technology-based sea water desalination plants at eight islands of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Additionally,  CSIR-  Central  Salt  and  Marine  Chemical  Research  Institute  (CSMCRI),  Bhavnagar  has commissioned 160 Reverse Osmosis (RO) based desalination plants in the different states of the country.

(c) For  the  adjudication  of  disputes  related  to  the  water  of  inter-State  rivers  and  their  river  valleys, Parliament enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 (the Act). When a request under the Act is received from a State Government regarding a water dispute over inter-State rivers, and the  Central  Government  believes  the  dispute  cannot  be  resolved  through  negotiations,  it  constitutes  a River Water Disputes Tribunal for adjudication. Tribunals formed for the adjudication of such disputes under this Act ensure that the issues raised in the request made by the State(s) to the Central Government under Section 3 of the Act are adequately considered, heard, and addressed.

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