Lok Sabha Question No. 4599 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Issue of Water Scarcity
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Anil Yeshwant Desai, Shri Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh, Shri Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4599

ANSWERED ON 19.03.2026

## ISSUE OF WATER SCARCITY

4599. SHRI ANIL YESHWANT DESAI:

## SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH:

## SHRI SANJAY HARIBHAU JADHAV:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken note that various States in the country including Maharashtra face water scarcity almost every year;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c)  the  measures  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  to  address  the  said  issue  along  with  the  details  of  any scheme/programme  being  implemented  to  provide  relief  in  this  regard  in  the  country  with  special reference to Maharashtra?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) & (b) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country including Maharashtra are being assessed every year from 2022 jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2025 assessment, the Total Annual Ground Water Recharge is 448.52 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 407.75 BCM. The Total Annual Ground Water Extraction of the entire country  for  the  year  2025  has  been  estimated  as  247.22  BCM.  The  state-wise Ground Water Resources of India (2025) including Maharashtra is presented in Annexure-I.

Further,  Out  of  the  total  6762  assessment  units  (Blocks/Taluks/Mandals)  in  the  country  including Maharashtra,  730  (10.80%)  units  have  been  categorized  as  'Over-  exploited'  indicating  ground  water extraction exceeding the annually replenishable ground water recharge. In 201 (2.97 %) assessment units the stage of groundwater extraction is between 90- 100% and have been categorized as 'Critical'. There are 758 (11.21 %) 'Semi-critical'' units, where the stage of ground water extraction is between 70 % and 90  %  and  4946  (73.14  %)  units  are  categorized  as  'safe'  blocks.  127  (1.88  %)  assessment  units  are categorized as 'saline'. Also, for Maharashtra, 85.24% of assessment unit in the state of Maharashtra fall in the Safe category, 11.14% in Semi-critical, 1.39% in Critical, 1.95% in Over-exploited and 0.28% in the Saline category.

(c) 'Water' being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management and utilization of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes. Various steps/measures have been taken to address the said issues in this regard in the country including State of Maharashtra are as given below:

-  Central Ground  Water Board (CGWB)  has  completed  the National Aquifer  Mapping (NAQUIM) Project in the entire mappable area of about 25 Lakh sq. km including the entire mappable area i.e., 259914 km 2 in the State of Maharashtra. 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.
-  Artificial Recharge work in selected Aspirational Districts was taken up by CGWB in the year 2018. Suitable structures were constructed to harvest the runoff water at appropriate locations for  augmenting  recharge  to  the  ground  water  in  3  aspirational  districts:  Dharashiv  (erstwhile Osmanabad),  Maharashtra;  YSR  Kadapa  district,  Andhra  Pradesh;  and  Jangaon  district, Telangana.  The  structures  constructed  included  Check  Dams,  percolation  tanks,  sub-surface barrier, recharge wells and Recharge shafts.
-  CGWB took up a pilot project in Maharashtra covering districts of Wardha and Amravati at five locations  for  construction  of  Bridge  cum  Bandhara  (BCB)  for  ground  water  recharge.  The structures serve the dual purposes of transportation as well as storage of water in the upstream side  for  drinking  and  irrigation  needs.  The  project  commenced  in  the  year  of  2018  and  was completed in 2020.
-  The  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  launched  the  Jal  Shakti  Abhiyan  (JSA)  in  2019  as  a  time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign in 256 water-stressed districts. Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) with the tagline: Catch The Rain, Where It falls, When It Falls, was expanded  pan  India  in  2021,  with  five  focused  interventions  (1)  water  conservation  and rainwater  harvesting  (2)  enumerating,  geo-  tagging  &  making  inventory  of  all  water  bodies; preparation of scientific  plans  for  water  conservation  based  on  it  (3)  Setting  up  of  Jal  Shakti Kendras in all districts (4) intensive afforestation and (5) awareness generation. The Abhiyan was scaled up to cover all districts, blocks, and municipalities across the country (rural as well as  urban). The  details  of  JSA:CTR  in the  State  of  Maharashtra  as  reported  on  the  JSA:  CTR portal is attached at Annexure-II .
-  'Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari' (JSJB) initiative was launched on 6 th September 2024 to further strengthen  the  JSA:  CTR  campaign.  The  JSJB  initiative  focuses  on  intensifying  community action  and  mobilization  to  build  low-cost  rainwater  harvesting  structures  in  low  cost  and saturation  mode.  The  objective  is  to  ensure  that  every  drop  of  water  is  conserved  through collective efforts, following a whole-of-society and  whole-of-government  approach.  By

fostering community ownership, the initiative seeks to develop cost-effective, local solutions at the micro level for water conservation and ground water recharge. The Government promotes the  JSJB  initiative  in  partnership  with  State  Governments  and  local  authorities  to  ensure  its widespread reach and awareness. Under  JSJB  1.0, an impressive 27.62 lakh artificial groundwater recharge and storage works were taken up, with a remarkable 23.83 lakh already completed by 31 st May 2025 marking a milestone in India's water conservation movement. As on 10.03.2026 a cumulative of more than 4.4 million artificial groundwater recharge and storage works  are  reported  under  JSJB.  As  per  JSJB  Portal,  total  30,964  nos.  of  works  have  been completed under JSJB (JSJB 1.0 and JSJB 2.0) in Maharashtra.

-  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana  (PMKSY)  was  launched  during  the  year  2015-16, with  an  aim  to  enhance  physical  access  of  water  on  farm  and  expand  cultivable  areas  under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation  practices,  etc.  Ninety-Nine  (99)  ongoing  Major/Medium  Irrigation  projects (including 7 phases) with pari-passu command area development in 88 projects were identified and included under PMKSY during 2016-17. Out of them 26 projects are from Maharashtra.
-  Nineteen  (19)  major  and  medium  irrigation  projects  have  been  taken  up  for  funding  under PMKSY-AIBP after approval of implementation of PMKSY for the period of 2021-26. Out of them  three  (03)  projects  are  from  Maharashtra.  Additional  irrigation  potential  of  29.23  lakh hectare has been created under PMKSY-AIBP and 22.21 lakh hectare command area has been developed under PMKSY HKKP-CAD&WM during 2016-25. Out of which, 4.16 lakh hectare irrigation potential has been created and 2.71 lakh hectare command area has been developed in Maharashtra during this period.
-  In  addition,  a  special  package  for  Maharashtra  for  the  completion  of  8  major  and  medium irrigation  projects  and  83  surface  minor  irrigation  schemes  in  districts  in  Vidarbha  and Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra region of the state of Maharashtra was sanctioned in July 2018.  Three  major  and  medium  projects  and  70  surface  minor  irrigation  schemes  have  been completed and 2.16  lakh hectare irrigation potential has been developed under this scheme.
-  Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban  Affairs  has  released  Model  Building  Bye-laws,  2016  which recommends Rainwater Harvesting for all types of Building with plot size 100 sq.m or more. So far, 35 States/UTs including Maharashtra have incorporated the provisions in their respective building bye laws.
-  Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) implements Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) which was launched on 25 June 2015 in selected 500 cities (485 cities including 15 merged cities) and towns across the country including Maharashtra.

***

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  4599  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  19.03.2026  REGARDING  'ISSUE  OF WATER SCARCITY'.

STATE-WISE GROUND WATER RESOURCES OF INDIA, 2025

| S. No.   | States / Union Territories               |   Total Annual Ground Water Recharge (in BCM) |   Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource (in BCM) |   Annual GW Extraction for all uses (in BCM) |
|----------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                           |                                         26.34 |                                               25.02 |                                         7.88 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                        |                                          3.69 |                                                3.29 |                                         0.01 |
| 3        | Assam                                    |                                         26.36 |                                               20.29 |                                         2.93 |
| 4        | Bihar                                    |                                         34.51 |                                               31.32 |                                        14.47 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                             |                                         14.3  |                                               13.07 |                                         6.3  |
| 6        | Goa                                      |                                          0.38 |                                                0.31 |                                         0.07 |
| 7        | Gujarat                                  |                                         27.58 |                                               25.61 |                                        14.33 |
| 8        | Haryana                                  |                                         10.27 |                                                9.3  |                                        12.72 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                         |                                          1.12 |                                                1.01 |                                         0.39 |
| 10       | Jharkhand                                |                                          6.15 |                                                5.63 |                                         1.85 |
| 11       | Karnataka                                |                                         19.27 |                                               17.41 |                                        11.58 |
| 12       | Kerala                                   |                                          5.45 |                                                4.93 |                                         2.46 |
| 13       | Madhya Pradesh                           |                                         36.07 |                                               34.15 |                                        20.26 |
| 14       | Maharashtra                              |                                         33.89 |                                               31.99 |                                        16.57 |
| 15       | Manipur                                  |                                          0.44 |                                                0.4  |                                         0.04 |
| 16       | Meghalaya                                |                                          1.84 |                                                1.54 |                                         0.08 |
| 17       | Mizoram                                  |                                          0.21 |                                                0.19 |                                         0.01 |
| 18       | Nagaland                                 |                                          0.55 |                                                0.5  |                                         0.02 |
| 19       | Odisha                                   |                                         17.44 |                                               16.02 |                                         7.81 |
| 20       | Punjab                                   |                                         18.6  |                                               16.8  |                                        26.27 |
| 21       | Rajasthan                                |                                         12.87 |                                               11.62 |                                        17.1  |
| 22       | Sikkim                                   |                                          0.24 |                                                0.22 |                                         0.01 |
| 23       | Tamil Nadu                               |                                         22.61 |                                               20.46 |                                        15.04 |
| 24       | Telangana                                |                                         21.93 |                                               19.84 |                                         9.26 |
| 25       | Tripura                                  |                                          1.53 |                                                1.24 |                                         0.12 |
| 26       | Uttar Pradesh                            |                                         73.39 |                                               66.97 |                                        46.89 |
| 27       | Uttarakhand                              |                                          2.13 |                                                1.95 |                                         1.05 |
| 28       | West Bengal                              |                                         25.85 |                                               23.5  |                                        10.62 |
| 29       | Andaman And Nicobar                      |                                          0.38 |                                                0.35 |                                         0.01 |
| 30       | Chandigarh                               |                                          0.05 |                                                0.05 |                                         0.03 |
| 31       | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |                                          0.13 |                                                0.12 |                                         0.05 |
| 32       | Delhi                                    |                                          0.38 |                                                0.35 |                                         0.32 |
| 33       | Jammu And Kashmir                        |                                          2.3  |                                                2.07 |                                         0.51 |
| 34       | Ladakh                                   |                                          0.07 |                                                0.06 |                                         0.02 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep                              |                                          0.01 |                                                0.01 |                                         0    |
| 36       | Puducherry                               |                                          0.19 |                                                0.17 |                                         0.13 |
|          | Grand Total                              |                                        448.52 |                                              407.75 |                                       247.22 |

Note- For National compilation, Evapotranspiration loss of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Lakshadweep has been added in Total Natural Discharges.

*Minor discrepancies in numbers may arise due to rounding at various levels and in case of Punjab 0.02 bcm contribution from lateral flows.

ANNEXURE-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4599 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 19.03.2026 REGARDING 'ISSUE OF WATER SCARCITY'.

| JSA: S.No.   | CTR details (Maharashtra) District Name   |   22/03/2025 *Renovation Traditional Water Bodies |   - 17/03/2026 as of *Reuse and Recharge Structures |   per JSA: *Watershed Development |   portal *Intensive Afforestation |
|--------------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 1            | AHMEDNAGAR                                |                                                97 |                                                 309 |                                 6 |                            247238 |
| 2            | AKOLA                                     |                                                 1 |                                                 139 |                                 5 |                               856 |
| 3            | AMRAVATI                                  |                                                58 |                                                 266 |                               261 |                              3523 |
| 4            | AURANGABAD                                |                                                13 |                                                   5 |                                20 |                              1846 |
| 5            | BEED                                      |                                               213 |                                                  81 |                               238 |                              1515 |
| 6            | BHANDARA                                  |                                               193 |                                                 316 |                               931 |                               337 |
| 7            | BULDHANA                                  |                                                 0 |                                                  73 |                                 5 |                             14415 |
| 8            | CHANDRAPUR                                |                                               142 |                                                 187 |                               218 |                              1024 |
| 9            | DHULE                                     |                                                 3 |                                                  95 |                                19 |                            109279 |
| 10           | GADCHIROLI                                |                                                44 |                                                 122 |                               276 |                               641 |
| 11           | GONDIA                                    |                                               246 |                                                 163 |                               321 |                               503 |
| 12           | HINGOLI                                   |                                                 0 |                                                   1 |                                24 |                               261 |
| 13           | JALGAON                                   |                                                 2 |                                                 710 |                                50 |                              1896 |
| 14           | JALNA                                     |                                                 3 |                                                 167 |                                33 |                              3116 |
| 15           | KOLHAPUR                                  |                                                 1 |                                                 304 |                                85 |                               300 |
| 16           | LATUR                                     |                                                 7 |                                                  97 |                                 5 |                               615 |
| 17           | MUMBAI                                    |                                                 0 |                                                   0 |                                 0 |                                 0 |
|              | MUMBAI SUBURBAN                           |                                                 0 |                                                   0 |                                 0 |                                 0 |
| 18 19        | NAGPUR                                    |                                                 3 |                                                  64 |                               121 |                              1462 |
| 20           | NANDED                                    |                                                31 |                                                   9 |                                50 |                               597 |
| 21           | NANDURBAR                                 |                                                 0 |                                                 144 |                                45 |                              1325 |
| 22           | NASHIK                                    |                                               132 |                                                 310 |                               164 |                              3136 |
| 23           | OSMANABAD                                 |                                                 5 |                                                  96 |                                 7 |                               292 |
| 24           | PALGHAR                                   |                                               496 |                                                  26 |                               258 |                              5129 |
| 25           | PARBHANI                                  |                                                 0 |                                                  74 |                                11 |                              6295 |
| 26           | PUNE                                      |                                                 0 |                                                 343 |                                35 |                              2647 |
| 27           | RAIGAD                                    |                                                25 |                                                 452 |                                12 |                              2120 |
| 28           | RATNAGIRI                                 |                                                 4 |                                                2201 |                               237 |                              3202 |
| 29           | SANGLI                                    |                                                 0 |                                                 380 |                                53 |                               696 |
| 30           | SATARA                                    |                                                 0 |                                                1356 |                               122 |                              1031 |
| 31           | SINDHUDURG                                |                                                 0 |                                                 155 |                                38 |                              7015 |
| 32           | SOLAPUR                                   |                                                77 |                                                  80 |                                60 |                              1837 |
| 33           | THANE                                     |                                                20 |                                                 115 |                               405 |                             10198 |
| 34           | WARDHA                                    |                                                 0 |                                                  26 |                                51 |                               961 |
| 35           | WASHIM                                    |                                                 5 |                                                 567 |                                48 |                              1687 |
| 36           | YAVATMAL                                  |                                                50 |                                                2770 |                               212 |                              2591 |
|              | Total                                     |                                              1871 |                                               12203 |                              4426 |                            439586 |

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