Lok Sabha Question No. 5430 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-03
Subject: Depleting Water Level in Purvanchal Areas
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Rambhual Nishad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5430

ANSWERED ON 03.04.2025

## DEPLETING WATER LEVEL IN PURVANCHAL AREAS

†5430.  SHRI RAMBHUAL NISHAD

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  number  of  studies  conducted  by  the  Government  on  the  issue  of  water  crisis  in  various  States  and depleting water level in the rivers during the last three years and the current year;
- (b) the areas of Purvanchal including Sultanpur in which there is a decrease in availability of water along with the extent to which the decrease in water flow in Gomti river was recorded during the said period; and
- (c)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  for  water  conservation,  water  management,  sufficient supply of water to the farmers and smooth water flow in Gomti river?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) to (c) Flow in the rivers is a dynamic parameter and depends on many sub-parameters such as rainfall, its distribution  pattern,  duration  and  intensity  in  the  catchment,  health  of  catchment  area,  vegetation  and withdrawals/utilization of water.

Central Water Commission (CWC) carries out hydrological observations on rivers at various locations across the country. The Annual Discharge Datasets for 04 no sites at Gomti river, namely, Sultanpur, Neemsar, Bhatpurwaghat & Maighat are as follows:

| Annual discharge (MCM) of CWCHOStations on Gomti River (2021- 2025)   | Annual discharge (MCM) of CWCHOStations on Gomti River (2021- 2025)   | Annual discharge (MCM) of CWCHOStations on Gomti River (2021- 2025)   | Annual discharge (MCM) of CWCHOStations on Gomti River (2021- 2025)   | Annual discharge (MCM) of CWCHOStations on Gomti River (2021- 2025)   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                                  | Neemsar                                                               | Bhatpurwaghat                                                         | Sultanpur                                                             | Maighat                                                               |
| 2021-2022                                                             | 17.47                                                                 | 20.27                                                                 | 113.22                                                                | 215.27                                                                |
| 2022-2023                                                             | 17.93                                                                 | 21.35                                                                 | 65.99                                                                 | 134.15                                                                |
| 2023-2024                                                             | 14.22                                                                 | 24.71                                                                 | 61.13                                                                 | 119.85                                                                |
| 2024-2025*                                                            | 19.52                                                                 | 29.97                                                                 | 30.85                                                                 | 127.6                                                                 |

The  average annual water availability of any region or country is largely  dependent  upon hydrometeorological  and  geological  factors.  As  per  the  study  'Assessment  of  Water  Resources  of  India', CWC, 2024, the average annual water resources across river basins of the country have been assessed as about 2115.95 BCM.

Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  monitors  groundwater  levels  throughout  the  country  on  a regional scale manually four times every year during the months of March/April/May, August, November and January.

Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being annually assessed since 2022 jointly by Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  and  State  Governments.  The  'National  Compilation  of  Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2024' was released on 31.12.2024. The district-wise details for Purvanchal including Sultanpur in respect of ground water availability (annual extractable groundwater resources) for 2020 and 2024 is presented in Annexure .

'Water' being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Union Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programs.

Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  has  completed  the  National  Aquifer  Mapping  (NAQUIM) Project in the entire mapped area of about 25 Lakh sq. km. The Aquifer maps and management plans have been  prepared  and  shared  with  the  respective  State  agencies  for  implementation.  The  management  plans include various water conservation measures through recharge structures.

Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojna-  Har  Khet  Ko  Paani-  Ground  Water  scheme  is  a  centrally sponsored scheme, launched by Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, envisages to provide irrigation facility for Small and Marginal Farmers in areas having sufficient potential for future development of ground water. So far 13 projects have been implemented in 10 states namely Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Six  districts  (including  Sultanpur  district)  of  Purvanchal  areas  namely  Basti,  Gorakhpur,  Mirzapur, Siddharth Nagar, Sonbhadra and Sultanpur covered under PMKSY-HKKP-GW scheme. Total 4449 tube wells and 125 blast well (Dug wells) have been constructed in above districts of Purvanchal areas and created 11850 Ha. command area under the scheme.

Various Steps taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other Central Ministries for Water conservation, Control and regulation of ground water and to promote rain water harvesting / artificial recharge etc. across the country can be seen at URL:

https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploads/2024/07/20240716706354487. pdf

***

## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5430 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 03.04.2025 REGARDING 'DEPLETING WATER LEVEL IN PURVANCHAL AREAS'

District-wise  details  for  Purvanchal  in  respect  of  ground  water  availability  (annual  extractable groundwater resources) in Hectare-Metre (HAM) for 2020 and 2024

|      |                  | 2020                                     | 2024                                           | 2024                                         | 2024                                     | 2024                                           | 2024                                         |
|------|------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| S.NO | Name of District | Total Annual Ground Water Recharge (HAM) | Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource (HAM) | Current Annual Ground Water Extraction (HAM) | Total Annual Ground Water Recharge (HAM) | Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource (HAM) | Current Annual Ground Water Extraction (HAM) |
| 1    | Ambedkar Nagar   | 80402.51                                 | 73340.4                                        | 45489.06                                     | 80543.11                                 | 72488.78                                       | 45553.36                                     |
| 2    | Ayodhya          | 99866.63                                 | 91977.5                                        | 58064.09                                     | 95269.54                                 | 85742.61                                       | 53415.97                                     |
| 3    | Azamgarh         | 121000.1                                 | 113251.72                                      | 77664.18                                     | 140317.67                                | 127154.42                                      | 75508.28                                     |
| 4    | Bahraich         | 140697.54                                | 132290.95                                      | 71553.68                                     | 148939.14                                | 139593.44                                      | 82599.43                                     |
| 5    | Ballia           | 93528.69                                 | 87063.26                                       | 54613.51                                     | 95436.89                                 | 85893.17                                       | 53641.2                                      |
| 6    | Balrampur        | 95175.8                                  | 87291.34                                       | 49287.85                                     | 98039.58                                 | 91195.86                                       | 52254.34                                     |
| 7    | Basti            | 78844.63                                 | 72479.21                                       | 45540.57                                     | 83453.81                                 | 75397.22                                       | 49332.24                                     |
| 8    | Chandauli        | 55974.33                                 | 51442.68                                       | 27066.02                                     | 56804.22                                 | 51421.87                                       | 29578.38                                     |
| 9    | Deoria           | 141143.86                                | 129077.54                                      | 76345.2                                      | 147163.11                                | 134166.95                                      | 83718.23                                     |
| 10   | Fatehpur         | 148919.71                                | 138088.75                                      | 97031.29                                     | 116584.93                                | 106602.72                                      | 80046.23                                     |
| 11   | Ghazipur         | 100703.66                                | 95062.52                                       | 57827.28                                     | 105416.87                                | 95654.61                                       | 56303.52                                     |
| 12   | Gonda            | 100810.16                                | 95098.48                                       | 58169.34                                     | 122252.69                                | 112972.64                                      | 69238.73                                     |
| 13   | Gorakhpur        | 177653.66                                | 162574.57                                      | 97151.13                                     | 173978.61                                | 159038.02                                      | 101424.6                                     |
| 14   | Jaunpur          | 131876.34                                | 121359.98                                      | 86187.13                                     | 131093.51                                | 119174.87                                      | 83626.02                                     |
| 15   | Kaushambi        | 55906.21                                 | 51456.45                                       | 39375.51                                     | 51407.65                                 | 46266.88                                       | 37079.46                                     |
| 16   | Kushi Nagar      | 175791.06                                | 158877.47                                      | 67323.3                                      | 173784.99                                | 157015.89                                      | 81590.32                                     |
| 17   | Maharajganj      | 107526.86                                | 99669.26                                       | 60069.89                                     | 112828.38                                | 103591.24                                      | 66356.32                                     |
| 18   | Mau              | 50015.31                                 | 46121.39                                       | 30293.36                                     | 51145.46                                 | 46650.57                                       | 30258.11                                     |
| 19   | Mirzapur         | 63759.08                                 | 58442.03                                       | 35246.31                                     | 62568.8                                  | 57060.42                                       | 35265.93                                     |
| 20   | Pratapgarh       | 147965.2                                 | 137620.66                                      | 102870.05                                    | 141696.61                                | 129527.85                                      | 99523.08                                     |
| 21   | Prayagraj        | 147078.38                                | 135052.05                                      | 100192.68                                    | 143024.6                                 | 128986.46                                      | 93790.05                                     |
| 22   | S. Kabir Nagar   | 47250.37                                 | 44263.87                                       | 29291.62                                     | 53971.7                                  | 48574.52                                       | 29277.72                                     |
| 23   | S. Ravidas Nagar | 36687.9                                  | 33517.54                                       | 26900.69                                     | 87848.74                                 | 79063.87                                       | 62897.17                                     |
| 24   | Shrawasti        | 49082.38                                 | 46628.26                                       | 27476.49                                     | 57550.25                                 | 52479.2                                        | 30016.08                                     |
| 25   | Siddharth Nagar  | 92838.87                                 | 87601.59                                       | 54082.48                                     | 96469.22                                 | 88147.16                                       | 56683.74                                     |
| 26   | Sonbhadra        | 25204.08                                 | 23373.77                                       | 15115.34                                     | 57363.6                                  | 51768.25                                       | 26334.41                                     |
| 27   | Sultanpur        | 90915.59                                 | 83642.92                                       | 50417.96                                     | 94429.06                                 | 84986.17                                       | 52412.36                                     |
| 28   | Varanasi         | 57048.76                                 | 53394.36                                       | 48703.45                                     | 51219.99                                 | 46631.29                                       | 41171.74                                     |
|      | Total            | 2713667.672510060.52 1589349.462830602.7 | 2713667.672510060.52 1589349.462830602.7       | 2713667.672510060.52 1589349.462830602.7     | 2713667.672510060.52 1589349.462830602.7 | 2577246.95                                     | 1658897                                      |