Lok Sabha Question No. 1148 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Groundwater Depletion and Water Security in Haryana
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Deepender Singh Hooda

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1148

ANSWERED ON 05.02.2026

## GROUNDWATER DEPLETION AND WATER SECURITY IN HARYANA

## 1148. SHRI DEEPENDER SINGH HOODA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  around  thirty  per  cent  of  villages  in  Haryana  have  been categorised as red-zone areas where groundwater extraction exceeds recharge levels as per recent reports and if so, the details thereof;

(b)  the  latest  data  on  groundwater  status  in  Haryana  including  the  number  of  blocks  and  villages classified as over-exploited or critical;

(c)  the  key  factors  identified  for  the  worsening  groundwater  crisis  including  water-intensive  cropping patterns, unregulated extraction and rapid urbanisation;

(d)  the  steps  taken  so  far  to  address  groundwater  depletion  through  regulatory,  technological  and behavioural interventions; and

(e)  whether  the  Government  has  formulated  or  proposes  to  formulate  a  time-bound  action  plan  with concrete policy measures for sustainable water management,  crop diversification and recharge augmentation to prevent long-term water insecurity in Haryana and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a)  &  (b) The  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  annually  conducts  Dynamic  Ground  water Resource  Assessment  of  the  entire  country,  including  Haryana,  in  co-ordination  with  the  State Governments. Further, the Assessment Units (AUs) for this exercise are generally Blocks/Mandals/Taluks/Tehsils etc.

As per the latest assessment report of 2025, the total Annual Ground Water Recharge for Haryana State is 10.27 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 9.30 BCM. The Total Annual Ground Water Extraction of the entire state for the year 2025 has been estimated as  12.72  BCM.  The  Stage  of  Ground  Water  Extraction  (SoE)  which  is  a  measure  of  Annual  Ground Water Extraction for all uses (irrigation, industrial and domestic uses) over Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 136.75% for the state as a whole.

Out of total 143 assessment units (blocks/Urban) in the State of Haryana, 91 units (63.64%) have been categorized as 'Over exploited' and 6 units (4.20%) as 'Critical'.

(c) The  key  factors  behind  increasing  ground  water  stress  in  certain  parts  of  the  country,  including Haryana,  could  be  large-scale  cultivation  of  water  intensive  crops  coupled  with  inefficient  irrigation methods, inadequate availability/development of surface water sources, lack of community awareness/ownership regarding sustainable management of ground water resources, increasing population burden, rapid industrialization & urbanization, climate change etc.

(d)  &  (e) Water  being  a  State  subject,  sustainable  development  and  management  of  groundwater resources  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of  the  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 conservation and sustainable development of ground water resources in the  country,  including  Haryana,  through  regulatory,  technological  and  behavioral  interventions  and sustained policy measures are provided below:

- i. For holistic and sustainable development of water resources in the country, Ministry of Water Resources  had  formulated  the  National  Water  Policy  (NWP)  in  1987  itself  which  was subsequently reviewed and updated in 2002 and 2012. From the ground water perspective, the NWP, inter-alia, calls for rainwater harvesting and conservation of water, mapping the aquifers of the country, proper regulation and integrated development of surface and ground water.
- ii. Efforts  of  the  Central  government  for  augmenting  the  water/groundwater  resources  of  the country are mainly channeled through the flagship campaign of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA). JSA is a time bound and mission mode programme being conducted annually since 2019 by the M/o Jal Shakti wherein all the efforts and funds under various schemes and projects are converged to  deliver  water  harvesting  and  artificial  recharge  works  on  the  ground.  As  per  the  data available  on  JSA  dashboard,  completion  of  around  1.60  lakh  water  conservation  works  has been coordinated through convergence in Haryana since 2021 under JSA.
- iii. To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) has been launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister with a vision to make rain water harvesting a mass movement in the country.  By promoting community ownership  and responsibility, the initiative  seeks  to  develop  cost-effective,  local  solutions  tailored  to  specific  water  challenges across different regions. So far, more than 9,200 such structures have been constructed/renovated in Haryana under the campaign.
- iv. The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti is involved in regulation of ground water extraction at the central level. That apart, 17 States/UTs, including Haryana,  are  having  their  own  regulatory  mechanism/bodies.  CGWA  issues  No  Objection Certificates  (NOCs) for  ground water extraction  for various purposes in  accordance with its Guidelines  dated  24.09.2020  which  have  pan  India  applicability.  CGWA  has  been  taking

stringent measures including imposition of heavy penalties and Environmental Compensation (EC) charges for illegal extraction of ground water and even resorting to sealing of bore wells in fitting cases.

- v. On the technological front, the government is employing a range of state of the art digital and technological tools for all round mapping, monitoring and planning in water sector. Some of the prominent ones that can be cited are use of high end Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for aquifer mapping under NAQUIM programme of CGWB, High resolution  heli-borne  surveys,  creation  of  a  nation-wide  network  of  Digital  Water  Level Recorders (DWLRs) with telemetry for real time ground water data  generation and sharing, creation of web-based INGRESS platform for ground water resource assessment, collaborations  with  apex  technological  agencies  like  (BISAG  -N)  and  Space  Application Centre, Ahmedabad for generating detailed aquifer maps and identifying recharge zones etc.
- vi. From the angle of promoting community ownership and prompting behaviour change, M/o Jal Shakti has successfully demonstrated the efficacy of community led participatory ground water management  through  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  which  was  implemented  in  80  water  stressed districts  in  7  States,  including  Haryana.  By  educating  and  empowering  the  communities  in scientific  management  of  their  ground  water  resources,  this  unique  scheme  successfully brought about change in the societal mindset regarding ground water issues, leading to notable improvement in ground water situation.
- vii. For  enhancing  water  use  efficiency  in  agriculture,  Department  of  Agriculture  &  Farmers' Welfare  (DA  &  FW),  GoI,  is  implementing  Per  Drop  More  Crop  (PDMC)  Scheme  in  the country including Haryana since 2015-16, which promotes Micro Irrigation and better on-farm water management practices to optimize the use of available water resources.
- viii. DA  &  FW  is  also  implementing  Crop  Diversification  Programme  (CDP)  under  Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana -Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR), in Original Green Revolution States viz., Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh to divert the area of water intensive paddy crop to alternative crops like pulses, oilseeds, coarse cereals, nutri cereals and cotton etc.

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