Lok Sabha Question No. 5450 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-03
Subject: Ground Water Depletion Crisis
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Sukhdeo Bhagat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5450

ANSWERED ON 03.04.2025

## GROUND WATER DEPLETION CRISIS

## 5450. SHRI SUKHDEO BHAGAT

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Central Ground Water Board's report, 2023 indicates that 256 out of 755 districts in India are facing critical or overexploited ground water levels and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) warns that 40% of India's population may have no access to drinking water by 2030 and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government to address this issue;

(c) the reasons for Government's failure to effectively curb groundwater depletion despite the implementation of schemes like Atal Bhujal Yojana;

(d) whether the Government acknowledges that 85% of rural drinking water supply relies on groundwater and if so, the details thereof along with the measures taken/being taken to ensure its sustainability; and

(e)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  enforce  stricter  regulations  for  ground  water  extraction  instead  of relying on voluntary compliance and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) In the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment-2023 report prepared by the Central Ground Water Board  (CGWB),  705  districts  in  the  country  have  been  assessed,  out  of  which  24  districts  were  under  the 'Critical'  category  and  98  districts  were  under  'Over-Exploited'  category.  The  details  of  such  districts  is provided in Annexure.

(b) Drinking water is a state subject. However, Government of India is implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), since August 2019, with an objective to provide safe & potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on a regular & long-term basis to all rural households in the country. So far, as reported by State/UTs, as on 20.03.2025 out of 19.36 Crore rural households in the country, approximately 15.53 Crore (80.22%) households have been provided with safe drinking water through tap water supply.

With respect to Urban areas, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 scheme has been launched on 01 October 2021 in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ cities, with an aim to enable them  to  become  'self-reliant'  and  'water  secure'.  Supplying  clean  water  is  also  covered  under  the  scope  of

AMRUT 2.0 and so far, 3,587 water supply projects have been approved across the country, covering various cities.

(c) Analysis of available data indicates that there has been overall improvement in ground water situation in the country over the past few  years, except in some water stressed pockets. During the period from 2017 to 2024, annual ground water recharge in the country has increased from 436.15 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) to 446.90 BCM, whereas, total annual ground water extraction for all purposes has remained stable from 244.92 BCM to 245.64 BCM. Further, the Stage of Ground water Extraction (SoE), which is defined as a ratio of total annual ground water extraction to total annual extractable ground water, has declined from 61.6% to 60.47%, thus indicating reduction in ground water stress.

Further,  arresting  the  decline  of  ground  water  is  an  important  outcome  indicator  under  Atal  Bhujal Yojana. As per the recent assessment conducted, 1,333 Atal Jal Gram Panchayats and 61 blocks in the year 2024 have shown improvement in groundwater levels.

(d) Source sustainability is an important focus area of the schemes and projects undertaken by the Ministry of Jal  Shakti.  Schemes  like  Groundwater  Management  and  Regulation  Scheme,  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  Jal  Shakti Abhiyan, etc. strive to ensure sustainability of ground water sources, especially those which are being utilized for  drinking  purposes.  Measures  like  construction  of  rain  water  harvesting  and  artificial  recharge  structures, which include ponds, check dams, recharge shafts, rooftop rain water harvesting structures etc.  are taken up under these schemes for augmenting aquifer potential and to ensure their sustainability.

Further,  development  of  reliable  drinking  water  sources  and/  or  augmentation  of  existing  sources  to provide long-term sustainability of water supply system in villages is an integral part of Jal Jeevan Mission. To achieve this objective, the operational guidelines for the implementation of JJM stipulate that any water supply scheme should be taken up under JJM only after the recommendation of a Source Finding Committee of the respective state government. This ensures that the identified water source through which the scheme is planned, has  sufficient  yield  for  sustaining  water  supply  as  per  required  norm,  for  the  scheme  design  period. Additionally, strengthening of drinking water sources is also taken up in convergence with other schemes such as MGNREGS, Finance Commission grants to rural local bodies/ PRIs, MP & MLA's Local Area Development Fund, District Mineral Development Fund, CSR fund, etc.

(e) Water is a state subject and regulation of ground water extraction is primarily the responsibility of State governments.  However,  M/o  Jal  Shakti  has  constituted  Central  Ground  Water  Authority  (CGWA)  which regulates the abstraction cum use of groundwater as per the provisions of its Guidelines dated 24.09.2020 which have  pan  India  applicability.  The  Guidelines  contain  sufficiently  stringent  measures  like  imposition  of Environmental Compensation (EC) charges  for  extraction  of  ground  water  without  valid  NOC,  penalties  for non-compliance  with  NOC  conditions,  sealing  of  unauthorized  ground  water  extraction  structures  etc.  In addition to this, the state governments have been given the liberty to impose more stringent measures in their domain, wherever felt necessary.

***

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5450 TO BE  ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 03.04.2025 REGARDING 'GROUND WATER DEPLETION CRISIS'.

## Details of Critical and Over-Exploited Districts in the country

(as per Ground Water Resource Assessment-2023)

|   S.No | Name of State/UT   | Name of District   | Categorisation Criticial/ Exploited (OE)   | Over-   |
|--------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------|
|      1 | Chhattisgarh       | Bemetara           | Critical                                   |         |
|      2 | Gujarat            | Gandhinagar        | Critical                                   |         |
|      3 | Gujarat            | Patan              | Critical                                   |         |
|      4 | Gujarat            | Mahesana           | OE                                         |         |
|      5 | Gujarat            | Banaskantha        | OE                                         |         |
|      6 | Haryana            | Palwal             | Critical                                   |         |
|      7 | Haryana            | Sonipat            | OE                                         |         |
|      8 | Haryana            | Jind               | OE                                         |         |
|      9 | Haryana            | Bhiwani            | OE                                         |         |
|     10 | Haryana            | Ambala             | OE                                         |         |
|     11 | Haryana            | Charkhi Dadri      | OE                                         |         |
|     12 | Haryana            | Rewari             | OE                                         |         |
|     13 | Haryana            | Yamuna Nagar       | OE                                         |         |
|     14 | Haryana            | Mahendragarh       | OE                                         |         |
|     15 | Haryana            | Sirsa              | OE                                         |         |
|     16 | Haryana            | Karnal             | OE                                         |         |
|     17 | Haryana            | Fatehabad          | OE                                         |         |
|     18 | Haryana            | Kaithal            | OE                                         |         |
|     19 | Haryana            | Panipat            | OE                                         |         |
|     20 | Haryana            | Faridabad          | OE                                         |         |
|     21 | Haryana            | Gurgaon            | OE                                         |         |
|     22 | Haryana            | Kurukshetra        | OE                                         |         |
|     23 | Karnataka          | Tumakuru           | Critical                                   |         |
|     24 | Karnataka          | Ramanagara         | Critical                                   |         |
|     25 | Karnataka          | Chamarajanagara    | Critical                                   |         |
|     26 | Karnataka          | Chitradurga        | OE                                         |         |
|     27 | Karnataka          | Bengaluru (Urban)  | OE                                         |         |
|     28 | Karnataka          | Chikkaballapura    | OE                                         |         |
|     29 | Karnataka          | Bengaluru (Rural)  | OE                                         |         |
|     30 | Karnataka          | Kolara             | OE                                         |         |
|     31 | Madhya Pradesh     | Neemuch            | Critical                                   |         |
|     32 | Madhya Pradesh     | Mandsaur           | OE                                         |         |
|     33 | Madhya Pradesh     | Shajapur           | OE                                         |         |
|     34 | Madhya Pradesh     | Ujjain             | OE                                         |         |
|     35 | Madhya Pradesh     | Indore             | OE                                         |         |
|     36 | Madhya Pradesh     | Ratlam             | OE                                         |         |
|     37 | Maharashtra        | Amravati           | Critical                                   |         |
|     38 | Punjab             | Rupnagar           | Critical                                   |         |
|     39 | Punjab             | Mansa              | Critical                                   |         |
|     40 | Punjab             | Bathinda           | OE                                         |         |

| 41    | Punjab     | Hoshiarpur        | OE       |
|-------|------------|-------------------|----------|
| 42    | Punjab     | Sbs Nagar         | OE       |
| 43    | Punjab     | Faridkot          | OE       |
| 44    | Punjab     | Sas Nagar         | OE       |
| 45    | Punjab     | Firozpur          | OE       |
| 46    | Punjab     | Gurdaspur         | OE       |
| 47    | Punjab     | Amritsar          | OE       |
| 48    | Punjab     | Tarn Taran        | OE       |
| 49    | Punjab     | Patiala           | OE       |
| 50    | Punjab     | Fatehgarh Sahib   | OE       |
| 51    | Punjab     | Ludhiana          | OE       |
| 52    | Punjab     | Barnala           | OE       |
| 53    | Punjab     | Moga              | OE       |
| 54    | Punjab     | Kapurthala        | OE       |
| 55    | Punjab     | Jalandhar         | OE       |
| 56    | Punjab     | Malerkotla        | OE       |
| 57    | Punjab     | Sangrur           | OE       |
| 58    | Rajasthan  | Tonk              | OE       |
| 59    | Rajasthan  | Bundi             | OE       |
| 60    | Rajasthan  | Udaipur           | OE       |
| 61    | Rajasthan  | Kota              | OE       |
| 62    | Rajasthan  | Jhalawar          | OE       |
| 63    | Rajasthan  | Sirohi            | OE       |
| 64    | Rajasthan  | Bharatpur         | OE       |
| 65    | Rajasthan  | Rajsamand         | OE       |
| 66    | Rajasthan  | Churu             | OE       |
| 67    | Rajasthan  | Pratapgarh        | OE       |
| 68    | Rajasthan  | Baran             | OE       |
| 69    | Rajasthan  | Barmer            | OE       |
| 70    | Rajasthan  | Dhaulpur          | OE       |
| 71    | Rajasthan  | Bikaner           | OE       |
| 72    | Rajasthan  | Ajmer             | OE       |
| 73    | Rajasthan  | Chittaurgarh      | OE       |
| 74    | Rajasthan  | Karauli           | OE       |
| 75    | Rajasthan  | Pali              | OE       |
| 76    | Rajasthan  | Sawai Madhopur    | OE       |
| 77    | Rajasthan  | Bhilwara          | OE       |
| 78    | Rajasthan  | Jalor             | OE       |
| 79    | Rajasthan  | Nagaur            | OE       |
| 80    | Rajasthan  | Alwar             | OE       |
| 81    | Rajasthan  | Sikar             | OE       |
| 82    | Rajasthan  | Jhunjhunu         | OE       |
| 83    | Rajasthan  | Jaipur            | OE       |
| 84    | Rajasthan  | Dausa             | OE       |
|       | Rajasthan  |                   | OE       |
| 85 86 | Rajasthan  | Jodhpur Jaisalmer | OE       |
| 87    | Tamil Nadu | Dharmapuri        | Critical |
| 88    | Tamil Nadu | Karur             | Critical |
| 89    | Tamil Nadu | Thanjavur         | OE       |
| 90    | Tamil Nadu | Perambalur        | OE       |
| 91    | Tamil Nadu | Vellore           | OE       |

|   92 | Tamil Nadu                               | Dindigul           | OE       |
|------|------------------------------------------|--------------------|----------|
|   93 | Tamil Nadu                               | Namakkal           | OE       |
|   94 | Tamil Nadu                               | Chennai            | OE       |
|   95 | Tamil Nadu                               | Salem              | OE       |
|   96 | Tamil Nadu                               | Mayiladuthurai     | OE       |
|   97 | Tamil Nadu                               | Tirupathur         | OE       |
|   98 | Telangana                                | Hyderabad          | Critical |
|   99 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Mahoba             | Critical |
|  100 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Amroha             | Critical |
|  101 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Hathras            | Critical |
|  102 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Bulandshahar       | Critical |
|  103 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Bagpat             | Critical |
|  104 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Hapur              | Critical |
|  105 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Saharanpur         | OE       |
|  106 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Shamli             | OE       |
|  107 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Firozabad          | OE       |
|  108 | Uttar Pradesh                            | G.B.Nagar          | OE       |
|  109 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Agra               | OE       |
|  110 | Uttar Pradesh                            | Ghaziabad          | OE       |
|  111 | Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu | Dadra Nagar Haveli | OE       |
|  112 | Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu | Daman              | OE       |
|  113 | Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu | Diu                | OE       |
|  114 | Delhi                                    | South West         | Critical |
|  115 | Delhi                                    | East               | Critical |
|  116 | Delhi                                    | West               | Critical |
|  117 | Delhi                                    | South East         | Critical |
|  118 | Delhi                                    | North East         | OE       |
|  119 | Delhi                                    | North              | OE       |
|  120 | Delhi                                    | South              | OE       |
|  121 | Delhi                                    | Shahdara           | OE       |
|  122 | Delhi                                    | New Delhi          | OE       |

*24  districts  have  Stage  of  Ground  Water  Extraction  (SoE)  between  90%  to  100% (Critical)  and  98  districts  have  Stage  of  Ground  Water  Extraction  (SoE)  more  than 100% (Over-exploited).

*****