Lok Sabha Question No. 3346 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Implementation and Progress of National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Krishna Prasad Tenneti, Dr. Byreddy Shabari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3346

ANSWERED ON 20.03.2025

## IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS OF NATIONAL AQUIFER MAPPING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

3346.

DR. BYREDDY SHABARI

SHRI KRISHNA PRASAD TENNETI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  the  total  area  covered  under  the  National  Aquifer  Mapping  and  Management  (NAQUIM)  programme, State and year-wise and the extent to which it has been mapped till today, particularly in Andhra Pradesh;

(b)  the  details  of  the  aquifer  mapping  in  Andhra  Pradesh  including  groundwater  availability,  recharge potential and contamination risks, district-wise;

(c) the details of the funds allocated, sanctioned and utilized for NAQUIM during the last five years and the current year in Andhra Pradesh, year-wise;

(d) the number of aquifer management plans shared with State and district authorities, their implementation status and the interventions taken based on the recommendations, especially in Nandyal;

(e) the total number of Digital Water Level Recorders installed in Andhra Pradesh under the programme to monitor groundwater levels;

(f) the details concerning the extent of chemical contamination in groundwater identified in the areas already mapped in Andhra Pradesh under the programme; and

(g)  the  corrective  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government to utilize the contaminated water for various purposes, including drinking and irrigation?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) NAQUIM  studies  were  taken  up  by  the  central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  for  delineation  and characterization of aquifers and development of plans for ground water management. Out of ~33 lakh sq. km of the entire geographical area of the country, the mappable area of ~25 lakh sq. km was covered under the NAQUIM programme by 31 st March 2023. Further, district-wise ground water management plans have been prepared  and  shared  with  all  concerned  State/District  authorities  for  taking  up  further  suitable  field interventions. State wise areas covered under the NAQUIM are given in Annexure-I . In the state of Andhra Pradesh, out of the total 1.64 lakh sq. km of geographical area of the State, the total mappable area of 1.41 lakh sq. km has been covered.

(b) The  district-wise  details  of  ground  water  recharge  and  availability  (annual  extractable  groundwater resources)  for  Andhra  Pradesh,  as  per  the  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resource  Assessment  (GWRA),  2024 conducted  by  CGWB,  is  provided  in Annexure  -II .  As  per  GWRA-2024,  the  total  annual  groundwater recharge in Andhra Pradesh is 278 MCM, with an annual extractable groundwater resource of 264.1 MCM. The current annual ground water extraction is 78.8 MCM with stage of ground water extraction is 29.8%.

Information  regarding  AP  groundwater  quality  on  certain  major  parameters  is  provided  as  per Annexure-III .

(c) NAQUIM  programme  is  a  component  of  Ground  Water  Management  and  Regulation  (GWM  &R) Scheme,  which  is  being  implemented  in  the  entire  country  for  the  purpose  of  regular  ground  water monitoring, resource assessment, regulation, quality analysis etc. Funds under the scheme are not allocated to the States and the activities are implemented by CGWB. A total of Rs. 997 cr was allocated for GWM&R scheme for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 and the total expenditure till date is Rs. 747.3 cr.

(d) NAQUIM reports of all the 26 districts of Andhra Pradesh including the report of Nandyal district have been shared with the State Government through the State Ground Water Coordination Committee (SGWCC) chaired by Principal Secretary, Govt of Andhra Pradesh. All these 26 reports have also been shared with the respective District Administration. However, it may be noted that these reports are only advisory in nature and the extent to which they should be taken up for implementation is decided by the State/district agencies based on administrative and budgetary factors.

(e) Digital  Water  Level  Recorders  (DWLRs)  have  not  been  installed  under  the  NAQUIM  programme. However, under the  National  Hydrology  Project  (NHP)  being  implemented  by  this  Ministry,  783  DWLRs (state  govt.  and  CGWB  put  together)  with  telemetry  systems  (groundwater  sensors)  have  been  installed  in Andhra Pradesh.

(f) Like  other  ground  water  parameters,  quality  of  ground  water  is  dynamic  in  nature  and  varies  between place and time. For that purpose, every year, CGWB generates ground water quality data of the country on a regional  scale  as  part  of  its  ground  water  quality  monitoring  program  and  various  scientific  studies.  These studies  indicate  the  occurrence  of  contaminants  such  as  Flouride,  Nitrate  and  elevated  EC  etc.  beyond permissible  limits  (as  per  BIS)  for  human  consumption  in  certain  isolated  pockets  in  some  States  /  UTs, including Andhra Pradesh. Details of such reported contamination for the year 2023 for the state of Andhra Pradesh are provided in Annexure -III.

(g) Water is a state subject and the responsibility of ground water management, including taking initiatives for  improving  ground  water  quality  and  mitigate  the  contamination  issue,  lies  primarily  with  the  state governments. However, several steps have been taken by the Central Government in this direction. In general, the government's approach is to identify and segregate the contaminated sources through testing and make

provision  from  alternative  safer  sources.  Community  Water  Purifier  Plants  (CWWPs)  have  been  set  up  in those quality affected habitations where water from alternative sources cannot be readily provided.

Some of the important measures taken by the government for ensuring safe water to the citizenry for drinking and irrigation purposes are mentioned below:-

- i. 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, of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household in the country. Under  the  JJM,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards'  BIS:10500  standards  have  been  adopted  as prescribed norms for quality of tap water service delivery. Water safety has been one of the key priorities  under  the  JJM  since  its  inception.  Further,  under  JJM,  while  allocating  the  funds  to States/  UTs,  10%  weightage  is  given  to  the  population  residing  in  habitations  affected  by chemical contaminants.
- ii. States/ UTs have been advised to plan and implement piped water supply schemes of bulk water transfer  based  on  safe  water  sources  such  as  surface  water  sources  or  alternative  safe  ground water sources for the villages with water quality issues.
- iii. Data on ground water quality available with CGWB are made available in public domain through reports as well as through the web site (http://www.cgwb.gov.in) for use by various stakeholders. The  data  is  also  shared  with  concerned  State  Governments  for  taking  necessary  remedial measures. The practice of issuing Half-yearly Bulletins and Fortnightly Alerts for quick action by the stakeholders has also been started.
- iv. CGWB  is  successfully  constructing  Arsenic  free  wells  in  arsenic  affected  areas  using  the innovative cement sealing technology for tapping contamination free aquifers and also providing technical assistance to state departments in construction of Fluoride safe wells. Such safe wells can be used for both drinking and irrigation purposes.
- v. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs/PCCs) is implementing the provisions of the Water (Prevention  &  Control)  Act,  1974  and  the  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  to  prevent  and control pollution in water. CPCB has made a comprehensive programme on water pollution for controlling  point  sources  by  developing  industry  specific  standards  and  general  standards  for discharge of effluents notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for enforcement by SPCBs/PCCs.
- vi. Further, the quality of groundwater can be improved to some extent if concerted efforts are made to  improve  the  groundwater  resources  through  appropriate  groundwater  recharge/rainwater harvesting. Government of India in this regard has taken up a number of initiatives/schemes like Jal Shakti Abiyan, PMKSY-Watershed development, MGNREGA, Atal Bhujal Yojana etc.

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3346 TO BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.03.2025  REGARDING  'IMPLEMENTATION  AND PROGRESS OF NATIONAL AQUIFER MAPPING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME'.

## State wise areas covered under the NAQUIM studies

| Sl. No.   | State/UT                           | Total area covered under NAQUIM programme (Sq.km)   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andaman &Nicobar UT                | 1,774                                               |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                     | 1,41,784                                            |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 4,703                                               |
| 4         | Assam                              | 61,826                                              |
| 5         | Bihar                              | 90,567                                              |
| 6         | Chandigarh UT                      | 115                                                 |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                       | 96,000                                              |
| 8         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli, Daman &Diu UT | 602                                                 |
| 9         | Delhi                              | 1,483                                               |
| 10        | Goa                                | 3,702                                               |
| 11        | Gujarat                            | 1,60,978                                            |
| 12        | Haryana                            | 44,179                                              |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 8,020                                               |
| 14        | Jammu &Kashmir UT                  | 9,506                                               |
| 15        | Jharkhand                          | 76,705                                              |
| 16        | Karnataka                          | 1,91,719                                            |
| 17        | Kerala                             | 28,088                                              |
| 18        | Lakshadweep UT                     | 32                                                  |
| 19        | Ladakh UT                          | 963                                                 |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 2,69,349                                            |
| 21        | Maharashtra                        | 2,59,914                                            |
| 22        | Manipur                            | 2,559                                               |
| 23        | Meghalaya                          | 10,645                                              |
| 24        | Mizoram                            | 700                                                 |
| 25        | Nagaland                           | 910                                                 |
| 26        | Odisha                             | 1,19,636                                            |
| 27        | Pudducherry UT                     | 454                                                 |
| 28        | Punjab                             | 50,368                                              |
| 29        | Rajasthan                          | 3,34,152                                            |
| 30        | Sikkim                             | 1,496                                               |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                         | 1,05,829                                            |
| 32        | Telangana                          | 1,04,824                                            |
| 33        | Tripura                            | 6,757                                               |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 2,40,649                                            |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                        | 11,430                                              |
| 36        | West Bengal                        | 71,947                                              |
|           | Total                              | 2514437                                             |

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3346 TO BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.03.2025  REGARDING  'IMPLEMENTATION  AND PROGRESS OF NATIONAL AQUIFER MAPPING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME'.

## District-wise Ground Water Recharge & Availability in Andhra Pradesh as per GWRA 2024

|    | S.NOName of District        |   Total Annual Ground Water Recharge (MCM) |   Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource (MCM) |   Current Annual Ground Water Extraction (MCM) |   Stage of Ground Water Extraction (%) |
|----|-----------------------------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 1  | Alluri Sitharama Raju       |                                      15.82 |                                            15.03 |                                           0.22 |                                    1.5 |
| 2  | Anakapalli                  |                                       8.2  |                                             7.79 |                                           2.1  |                                   26.9 |
| 3  | Ananthapuramu               |                                      12.2  |                                            11.59 |                                           4.09 |                                   35.3 |
| 4  | Annamayya                   |                                       8.66 |                                             8.22 |                                           3.55 |                                   43.1 |
| 5  | Bapatla                     |                                       7.03 |                                             6.68 |                                           1.83 |                                   27.3 |
| 6  | Chittoor                    |                                       9.04 |                                             8.59 |                                           5.09 |                                   59.3 |
| 7  | East Godavari               |                                      10.73 |                                            10.19 |                                           3.42 |                                   33.5 |
| 8  | Eluru                       |                                      18.28 |                                            17.37 |                                           4.77 |                                   27.5 |
| 9  | Guntur                      |                                       5.45 |                                             5.18 |                                           1.06 |                                   20.5 |
| 10 | Kakinada                    |                                      11.26 |                                            10.72 |                                           1.71 |                                   16   |
| 11 | Konaseema                   |                                      11.22 |                                            10.66 |                                           1.06 |                                    9.9 |
| 12 | Krishna                     |                                      16.67 |                                            15.84 |                                           4.7  |                                   29.7 |
| 13 | Kurnool                     |                                       6.75 |                                             6.41 |                                           1.96 |                                   30.6 |
| 14 | NTR                         |                                       6.43 |                                             6.1  |                                           2.39 |                                   39.1 |
| 15 | Nandyal                     |                                       8.22 |                                             7.81 |                                           1.29 |                                   16.5 |
| 16 | Palnadu                     |                                      10.15 |                                             9.64 |                                           2.92 |                                   30.3 |
| 17 | Parvathipuram Manyam        |                                       9.14 |                                             8.69 |                                           2.18 |                                   25.1 |
| 18 | Prakasam                    |                                       9.83 |                                             9.34 |                                           4.67 |                                   50   |
| 19 | Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore |                                      19.7  |                                            18.71 |                                           4.39 |                                   23.5 |
| 20 | Sri Sathya Sai              |                                      11.99 |                                            11.39 |                                           6.91 |                                   60.7 |
| 21 | Srikakulam                  |                                      13.22 |                                            12.56 |                                           4.44 |                                   35.3 |
| 22 | Tirupati                    |                                      16.15 |                                            15.35 |                                           5.36 |                                   34.9 |
| 23 | Visakhapatnam               |                                       1.26 |                                             1.2  |                                           0.54 |                                   44.9 |
| 24 | Vizianagaram                |                                      14.27 |                                            13.56 |                                           3.58 |                                   26.4 |
| 25 | West Godavari               |                                       5.59 |                                             5.31 |                                           0.44 |                                    8.4 |
| 26 | Y.S.R Kadapa                |                                      10.72 |                                            10.19 |                                           4.14 |                                   40.7 |
|    | Total (MCM)                 |                                     277.99 |                                           264.11 |                                          78.8  |                                   29.8 |

## ANNEXURE-III

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) & (f) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3346  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.03.2025  REGARDING  'IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS OF NATIONAL AQUIFER MAPPING AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME'.

## Details of samples showing high Electrical Conductivity (EC), Fluoride and Nitrate in Andhra Pradesh

| Andhra Pradesh   | %of samples with EC >3000µS/cm.   | %of samples with Fluoride>1.5mg/L   | %Samples with Nitrate>45mg/L   |
|------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Total            | 9.70%                             | 11.30%                              | 23.40%                         |

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