Lok Sabha Question No. 292 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-20
Subject: Community-based Groundwater Management Practices
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Yaduveer Wadiyar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *292

ANSWERED ON 20.03.2025

## COMMUNITY-BASED GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

| *292.                                                                                                                                         | SHRI YADUVEER WADIYAR                                                                                                                         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:                                                                                          | Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:                                                                                          |
| (a) the specific initiatives taken to address the groundwater depletion in Karnataka;                                                         | (a) the specific initiatives taken to address the groundwater depletion in Karnataka;                                                         |
| (b) whether any community-based groundwater management practices have been implemented in Mysuru district and if so, the details thereof; and | (b) whether any community-based groundwater management practices have been implemented in Mysuru district and if so, the details thereof; and |
| (c) whether there are any plans to construct recharge wells and check dams in Kodagu's hilly terrain and if                                   | (c) whether there are any plans to construct recharge wells and check dams in Kodagu's hilly terrain and if                                   |
| the details thereof?                                                                                                                          | the details thereof?                                                                                                                          |
| THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PAATIL)                                                                                                  | THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PAATIL)                                                                                                  |
| (a) to (c) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.                                                                                   | (a) to (c) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.                                                                                   |

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. *292  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  20.03.2025  IN  LOK  SABHA  REGARDING  'COMMUNITY-BASED GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES'

(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, including for the state of Karnataka, are given below:-

-  The Government is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country, including Karnataka, since  2019  which  is  a  mission  mode  and  time  bound  programme  for  harvesting  the  rainfall  and taking up water conservation activities. 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.
-  Central Ground Water Board (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,  including  1.91  lakh  sq.  km  of Karnataka, has been mapped under the scheme and district-wise ground water management plans, containing  both  demand  and  supply  side  measures,  have  been  shared  with  the  respective State/District administrations for implementation.
-  Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by the CGWB for the entire  country,  including  Karnataka  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)  of  water.  For  Karnataka,  the  Master  plan recommends around 61,225 structures.
-  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, 14 districts of Karnataka being among them.
-  Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare (DA & FW), GoI, is implementing Per Drop More Crop  Scheme  in  the  country,  including  Karnataka,  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. As a result an area of 13.30 lakh Hectares in Karnataka has been brought under micro-irrigation in the last 5 years, i.e. 2019 to 2024.
-  M/o Jal Shakti has circulated a Model Bill to all the States/UTs to enable them to enact suitable ground  water  legislation  for  regulation  of  its  development  which  also  includes  provision  of  rain water  harvesting.  So  far,  21  States/UTs  including  Karnataka have  adopted  and  implemented  the ground water legislation.

-  A total of 93 Public Interaction Programmes (PIPs) and 50 Tier-II & Tier -III trainings have been organized so far by CGWB in various parts of Karnataka to promote awareness on groundwater among public.

(b) The central government has taken several important steps to ensure large scale community participation for turning ground water management into a truly peoples' movement in the country. Some of the important measures, which also cover the state of Karnataka and especially the district of Mysuru, are mentioned below :

-  Ground water conservation through awareness generation is a key focus area of the JSA campaign. JSA  2024  is  being  implemented  in  the  entire  country,  including  Mysuru.  Further,  Jal  Shakti Kendras (JSKs) have also been established in several districts of the country, including Mysuru, which  act  as  knowledge  centers  for  interacting  with  common  people.  JSKs  are  disseminating information related to water related issues such as water conservation methods, policies on ground water,  efficient  irrigation  techniques,  water  quality  etc.,  thus  ensuring  large-scale  community mobilization for the cause of sustainable ground water management.
-  Jal  Sanchay  Jan  Bhagidari:  A  Community-Driven Path to Water Sustainability in  India has been launched  by  the  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister,  which  marks  the  government's unwavering  resolve  to make  water  conservation  a  national  priority.  The  initiative  emphasizes  the  importance  of  Jan Bhagidari or peoples' participation in water conservation with the aim to have a special focus on the construction of artificial recharge structures/borewell recharge shafts, which will increase storage capacity & help to augment groundwater recharge. Thus far, a total of 404 ground water recharge structures have been constructed in Mysuru district.
-  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 with active community participation, with 152 in Mysuru district.

(c) As per the Master plan for artificial recharge to ground water prepared by CGWB, in Kodagu district, it was recommended to construct 4 sub-surface dykes, 145 percolation tanks, 815 check dams and 21 filter beds to recharge around 120.5 million cubic metre (MCM) of water. The Master Plan has been shared with State Govt. agencies for planning and implementation at appropriate level as taking up such construction falls under the purview of state government.

Additionally, as per JSA dashboard, 15,021 number of water conservation and rain water harvesting structures, including check dams (221), recharge wells, percolation tanks etc. have been constructed/renovated in Kodagu district in the past 4 years.

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