Lok Sabha Question No. 6383 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Groundwater Rejuvenation in Chevella
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Konda Vishweshwar Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6383

## ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026

## GROUNDWATER REJUVENATION IN CHEVELLA

## 6383. SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY:

## Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  studies  warning  of  a  'zero  day'  water  crisis  in Telangana  by  2034  along  with  groundwater  utilization  touching  sixty-five  per  cent  and  Vikarabad  in Chevella Constituency recording depletion levels exceeding 16.60 metres below ground level;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the financial and technical interventions prioritised for Chevella Constituency under the Atal Bhujal Yojana to rejuvenate aquifers and mitigate fluoride contamination in affected rural habitations;

(c) the reasons for the Central Water Commission (CWC) withholding techno-economic clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) which is critical for drought-proofing the upland agricultural communities of Chevella; and

(d) whether the Government proposes to formulate a fast-track appraisal mechanism to resolve inter-State Krishna  basin  water  disputes  thereby  expediting  PRLIS  approvals  and  ensuring  water  security  for  the periphery of Hyderabad and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment of the country is carried out annually by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in coordination with State Governments. As per the latest assessment for 2025, the total Annual Ground Water Recharge in Telangana is 21.93 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 19.84 BCM. The Total Annual Ground Water Extraction of the  entire  state  for  the  year  2025  has  been  estimated  as  9.26  BCM.  Accordingly,  the  Stage  of  Ground Water Extraction (SoE), defined as the ratio of Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses to Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource, is worked out to be 46.69 % for the state as a whole. In Chevella Lok Sabha  Constituency,  comprising  of  Vikarabad  and  Ranga  Reddy  districts,  the  stage  of  ground  water extraction  is  assessed  as  60.66%  and  66.59%,  respectively,  indicating  that  both  districts  fall  under  the 'Safe' category as a whole.

Further, as per the ground water level data measured by CGWB during its post monsoon round of monitoring during November/December 2025, in Vikarabad district, all the 39 wells monitored (100%) have  recorded  groundwater  levels  within  0-10  metres  below  ground  level  (mbgl)  and  in  Ranga  Reddy district, 29 out of 31 wells monitored (93.5%) were within 0-10 mbgl range.

(b) 'Water'  is  a  State  subject  and  the  responsibility  of  ground  water  management,  including  taking initiatives  for  improving  ground  resources  and  mitigating  contamination  issues,  lies  primarily  with  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, several  important  steps  have  been  taken  by  the  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  and  other  Central  Ministries  for sustainable management and improvement of ground water resources of the country, including in Chevella Lok Sabha constituency of Telangana. Gist of various such initiatives is given below:-

- i. Efforts of the Government for augmenting the water/groundwater resources of the country are mainly channeled through the flagship campaign of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), an annual mission mode programme for taking up water harvesting and artificial recharge activities. As per  the  available  information,  under  JSA  more  than  2  Cr  water  conservation  and  artificial recharge works have been taken up through convergence in the country so far, with around 3.02  lakh  works  in  Telangana,  including 19,366  works  in  Vikarabad  and  5,522  works  in Ranga  Reddy  Districts,  which  have  played  a  key  role  in  enhancing  the  sustainability  of ground water resources.
- ii. To further strengthen the momentum of JSA, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative has been  launched  by  the  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  in  2024  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 50 lakh rain water harvesting and artificial  recharge  structures  have  been  constructed across the  country under this initiative, with around 7.11 lakh such structures in Telangana, including 5,399 in Vikarabad and 1,739 in Ranga Reddy districts.
- iii. To further boost the water conservation works in the country, under the 'National Initiative on Water Security', it has been decided to spend at least 65% of MGNREGS funds on water conservation works in Over-Exploited (OE) and Critical Blocks of the country and 40% in Semi-critical Blocks and 30% in Safe Blocks and the scheme provisions have been amended to that effect.
- iv. Mission  Amrit  Sarovar  was  also  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 1,872 sarovars in Telangana, including 75 in Vikarabad and 23 in Ranga Reddy districts.
- v. Central Ground  Water Board under its National  Aquifer  Mapping  &  Management (NAQUIM) Programme, has  covered  the  entire  mappable  area  of  25  lakh  sq.  kms  of  the

country  and  district  level  aquifer  maps  along  with  appropriate  aquifer  management  plans, containing recommendations for various recharge structures, have been shared with all State and District administrations, including for Telangana, for taking further field implementation. Subsequent to this CGWB has initiated NAQUIM 2.0, wherein state of the art technologies are being used for generation of aquifer information of high granularity and preparation of village/Block level management plans.

- vi. For  mitigation  of  Fluoride  contamination  and  with  an  objective  to  provide  safe  drinking water to every rural household of the country, the Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) - Har Ghar Jal Scheme. As on date 15.82 Cr rural households of the country have been provided with functional tap connection under the Scheme as compared to 3.23 Cr at the time of Scheme commencement in August 2019. Following measures have been taken under JJM to facilitate action on water quality aspects at state level :-
2.  Under  the  JJM,  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards'  BIS:10500  standards  have  been  adopted  as prescribed norms for quality of tap water service delivery.
3.  While allocating the funds to States/ UTs, 10% weightage is given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemical contaminants.
4.  Around 2870 water quality testing laboratories have been set up in the country. Besides this, five persons, preferably women are identified and trained from every village for testing the water samples through Field Test Kits (FTKs).
5.  States/ UTs have also been advised to install community water purification plants (CWPPs) as an interim measure, especially in quality affected habitations, to provide potable drinking water to every household.

As per the data available on JJM dashboard, from August 2019 to March 2026, an amount of Rs.188.23 Cr has been released as Central Share to State of Telangana and the total expenditure is Rs. 467.86 Cr.

- vii. Atal Bhujal Yojana was a pilot project with a fixed duration and outlay implemented across 8,203 water stressed Gram Panchayats across 7 States. The Scheme was not implemented in Telangana.

(c)  &  (d) The  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR)  of  the  Palamuru-Rangareddy  Lift  Irrigation  Scheme (PRLIS) has not been taken up for techno-economic appraisal by the Central Water Commission (CWC) as the project involves utilisation of Krishna River waters and the allocation of these waters is presently sub-judice before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT)-II. In view of the ongoing adjudication appraisal of PRLIS including the request for Phase-I clearance cannot be undertaken at this stage.

Further, it has been advised that comprehensive and integrated planning for achieving the intended benefits of the entire PRLIS project may be undertaken by the project authorities and a proposal may be submitted for appraisal after the final award of KWDT-II and in conformity with the said award.

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