Lok Sabha Question No. 928 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Assessments Regarding Depleting Groundwater Levels
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Shri P C Mohan, Dr. K Sudhakar, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Smt. Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, Shri Avimanyu Sethi, Shri Chandan Chauhan, Shri Kota Srinivasa Poojary, Shri Praveen Patel, Shri Vijay Baghel, Shri Jugal Kishore, Shri Yaduveer Wadiyar, Shri Ananta Nayak, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Shri Damodar Agrawal, Shri P P Chaudhary, Dr. Manna Lal Rawat, Shri Khagen Murmu, Shri Mahesh Kashyap, Shri Captain Brijesh Chowta, Shri Balabhadra Majhi, Shri Tejasvi Surya, Shri Vijay Kumar Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 928

ANSWERED ON 05.02.2026

## ASSESSMENTS REGARDING DEPLETING GROUNDWATER LEVELS

928. Smt. MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH:

SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

SHRI MAHESH KASHYAP:

Dr. MANNA LAL RAWAT:

SHRI ANANTA NAYAK:

SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG:

SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

SHRI P C MOHAN:

SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA:

SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

SHRI CHANDAN CHAUHAN:

SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL:

SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

SHRI KOTA SRINIVASA POOJARY:

SHRI JUGAL KISHORE:

SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT:

SHRI AVIMANYU SETHI:

SHRI YADUVEER WADIYAR:

Dr. K SUDHAKAR:

SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

SHRI KHAGEN MURMU:

SHRI VIJAY KUMAR DUBEY:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the recent assessments indicate further depletion of groundwater levels in critical over-exploited blocks  of  the  country,  particularly  in  Odisha  including  Nabarangpur  Lok  Sabha  Constituency,  Karnataka including  Dakshina  Kannada  and  Chikkaballapur  districts  and  in/around  Bengaluru,  Union  Territory  of Jammu and Kashmir and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the manner in which the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY) has progressed in the participating States including Karnataka and UT of Jammu and Kashmir during the last five years;

(c) the number of supply-side structures that have been constructed/renovated for water conservation and groundwater recharge in Rajasthan, particularly in Pali Lok Sabha Constituency;

(d)  whether  the  data-driven  tools  are  being  used  for  aquifer  mapping,  groundwater  monitoring  and assessment including digital platforms and remote sensing in the country, particularly in Odisha including Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency and Karnataka including Bengaluru and if so, the details thereof;

(e) the corrective and remedial measures planned for recharge of over-exploited aquifers and groundwater sustainability in the country including Rajasthan, Bengaluru region and  Nabarangpur Lok  Sabha Constituency;

(f) whether the Government  has  undertaken any interventions and district-specific assessment of groundwater depletion, aquifer stress, drinking-water sustainability and the targeted interventions proposed or  implemented  in  the  coastal  districts  of  Odisha,  particularly  Bhadrak  and  Balasore  districts  and Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency and if so, the details thereof along with the outcomes observed so far; and

(g) the steps being taken to revive water conservation structures such as ponds, etc. associated with religious institutions such as temples?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being assessed annually by the Central Ground Water  Board  (CGWB)  in  co-ordination  with  the  State  Governments.  Upon  comparison  of  data  between years 2017 and 2025, it is seen that overall ground water situation of the country has steadily improved with percentage of 'Safe' Assessment Units (AUs, which are generally Blocks/Taluks/Tehsils, or valleys in hilly regions)  increasing  from  62.6%  to  73.14%  and  that  of  'Over-Exploited'  Units  decreasing  from  17.2%  to 10.8%. Further, all Assessment Units of Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency of Odisha (spanning over Nabarangpur,  Koraput  and  Malkangiri  districts),  Dakshina  Kannada  district  of  Karnataka  and  Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been categorized as 'Safe' in both assessment years. However, all Assessment  Units  of  Chikkaballapur  district  of  Karnataka  were  falling  under  'Over-Exploited'  category during both years.

(b) Atal Bhujal Yojana was one of its kind pilot scheme for community led participatory management of ground water implemented in 8,203 water stressed Gram Panchayats (GPs) across 7 States viz. Haryana, Gujarat,  Rajasthan,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra  &  Karnataka.  During  its  tenure, community led Water Budgeting and preparation of Water Security Plans (WSPs) was done and annually updated  for  all  participating  GPs.  Further,  around  83,000  artificial  recharge  and  water  conservation structures  were  constructed  and  more  than  9  lakh  hectares  of  land  was  brought  under  efficient  irrigation practices in the scheme implementation area, leading to improvement in ground water levels in 180 Blocks out of 229. Atal Bhujal Yojana was not implemented in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

(c) 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, covering both rural and  urban  areas.   As  per  the  data  available  on  JSA  dashboard,  around  6.66  lakh  such  works  have  been constructed/rejuvenated in Rajasthan since 2021, with around 12,600 in Pali district.

To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) has been launched with a vision to make rain water harvesting a mass movement in the country. Under this campaign, so far more than 4.16 lakh structures have been completed in Rajasthan and more than 3,800 for Pali district, through convergence.

(d) 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 ground water sector, which cover the entire country, including Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency and Karnataka, including Bengaluru.

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.

(e) & (f) The endeavours of the Government for aquifer mapping, ground water monitoring, assessment and preparation of suitable management plans cover the entire country, including Rajasthan, Bengaluru region, Nabarangpur Lok Sabha constituency, coastal districts of Odisha, including Bhadrak and Balasore districts. However,  it  may  be  appreciated  that  'Water'  being  a  State  subject,  sustainable  development  and management of water and groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. The Central Government, on its part, facilitates the efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial  assistance  through  its  various  schemes  and  projects.  The  major  steps  taken  in  this  direction  are provided below:

- i. Under the annual mission mode Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain campaign completion/rejuvenation  of  around  1.23  cr  water  conservation  and  artificial  recharge  works has been coordinated through convergence in the country since 2021 (through convergence with  MGNREGS  alone),  which  has  played  a  key  role  in  enhancing  the  sustainability  of ground water resources. Further, under the JSJB mass movement for scaling up ground water recharge and rain water harvesting, more than 40 lakh structures have been created/revived so far.  Moreover,  under  JSA,  712  Jal  Shakti  Kendras  (JSKs)  have  been  established  at  district level and 640 District Water Conservation Plans have been prepared.

- ii. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India which aimed at developing and rejuvenating water bodies in each district of the country. As an outcome nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated in the country leading to enhanced water storage and ground water recharge.
- iii. Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare (DA & FW) is implementing Per Drop More Crop Scheme since 2015-16, which focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through Micro Irrigation leading to conservation of ground water.
- iv. After the successful completion of NAQUIM 1.0, under which aquifers were mapped for the entire 25 lakh sq. kms mappable area of the country, providing a macro-level understanding of our nation's groundwater resources, the Central Ground Water Board has now embarked upon NAQUIM 2.0, focusing on water stressed and quality affected pockets. Under NAQUIM 2.0 state-of-the-art  technologies  are  harnessed,  for  generating  highly  detailed,  scientific  data which serve as an important tool for making informed decisions for sustainable groundwater management.
- v. With an objective to ensure sustainability of water resources in urban areas, M/o Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), GoI, has been implementing AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 Schemes, which are major initiatives to improve the quality of life in cities, enabling them to become 'self-reliant' and 'water secure'.  Rejuvenation of urban water bodies is an important thrust area under the scheme.
- vi. Under Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) of MoHUA, priority cities have been selected for addressing  groundwater  depletion  and  water  logging,  by  taking  up  over  35  pilot  recharge structures in 6 cities in various parts of the country.
- vii. CGWB has also prepared the Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020, for the  entire  country  providing  a  broad  outline  for  construction  of  rain  water  harvesting  and artificial recharge structures in the country. The Master plan has been shared with State/UT administrations for taking up suitable field interventions.

(g) Construction and revival of water conservation structures like ponds, tanks, bawdis etc. is one of the key pillars  of  the  Government's strategy to enhance  water storage and availability and  augment ground water recharge. Through various programmes like Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari, Mission Amrit Sarovar and Natural Resource management (NRM) component of MGNREGS, consistent efforts are being made   to  revive  traditional  water  bodies,  including  those  associated  with  religious  institutions,  through active community involvement, for maximizing the benefits for the entire village/locality.

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