Lok Sabha Question No. 1941 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-11
Subject: Coverage under Atal Bhujal Yojana
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Ashish Dubey, Shri Ananta Nayak, Smt. D K Aruna, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Shri Narayan Tatu Rane, Shri Hasmukhbhai Somabhai Patel, Shri Miteshbhai Rameshbhai Patel, Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram, Shri Rodmal Nagar, Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1941

ANSWERED ON 11.12.2025

## COVERAGE UNDER ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA

1941.  SHRI ANANTA NAYAK:

SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

SHRI NARAYAN TATU RANE:

SHRI MITESH PATEL BAKABHAI:

SHRI RODMAL NAGAR:

DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

SHRI HASMUKHBHAI SOMABHAI PATEL:

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

SHRI ASHISH DUBEY:

SMT. D K ARUNA:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the key objectives and present coverage of the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY) across participating States and Gram Panchayats in the country, State and Gram Panchayat-wise;
- (b)  the  progress  achieved  in  enumeration,  geo-tagging  and  classification  of  water  bodies  under  the  Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) and related initiatives;
- (c)  the  details  of  digital  and  technological  tools  currently  being  deployed  for  groundwater  monitoring, surface-water assessment and water-body mapping under various schemes of the Government;
- (d)  the  manner  in  which  data  collected  through  these  systems  is  being  utilised  for  planning,  decisionmaking and performance evaluation of water conservation; and
- (e)  the  proposed  schemes  and  works  undertaken  in  Chittorgarh,  Pratapgarh  and  Udaipur  districts  of Rajasthan under ABY?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  a  community  led  participatory  ground  water  management  scheme,  was implemented as a pilot scheme across 8,203 priority water stressed Gram Panchayats of seven states viz. Gujarat,  Haryana,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Rajasthan  and  Uttar  Pradesh.  The  key objective  of  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  was  to  improve  groundwater  management  in  selected  states  through community participation and focusing on demand-side interventions, ensuring sustainability of the resource. The scheme aimed to achieve this objective by strengthening institutional and governance frameworks and by incentivizing states to implement groundwater conservation measures at grassroots level. The State-wise number of gram panchayats covered under the Scheme are as provided in Annexure.

(b) Under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) campaign, implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, one of the key interventions is the enumeration, geo-tagging and inventorization of water bodies to facilitate the preparation of scientific water conservation plans. District Collectors and Magistrates have been requested to enumerate water bodies using old revenue records, remote sensing data from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping technology to mark boundaries, geo-tag structures and integrate data from the National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) and State  Water  Resources  Information  Systems.  This  approach  enables  the  development  of  data-driven scientific conservation plans.

In  addition,  a  notable  initiative  in this  regard  is  the  development  of  the GIS-based  sub-portal  'Jal Dharohar',  operational  in  its  beta  version  since  1 st November,  2023,  under  the  India-WRIS  Portal.  This portal presents a consolidated and geo-tagged database of water bodies across India and integrates data from multiple national programmes and sources, including the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Minor Irrigation Statistics, the First Census of Water Bodies and the National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC). It serves as a visual and spatial tool for awareness creation, planning and monitoring of water resources.

(c)  &  (d) Water  being  a  State  subject,  the  Central  Government  plays  only  a  supportive  role  by supplementing the efforts of the States through various technical, financial, and policy-level interventions.

In this direction, the government employs a range of state of the art digital and technological tools not only  for  mapping  and  monitoring  water  resources  of  the  country,  but  also  for  planning  precise  policy interventions and evaluating performance of schemes. The following are a few noteworthy ones:

-  National  Aquifer  Mapping  and  Management  Programme  (NAQUIM):  The  Central  Ground  Water Board  (CGWB)  is  implementing  NAQUIM,  utilizing  advanced  technologies  such  as  Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for aquifer mapping, identifying recharge zones  and  assessing  source  sustainability.  Heliborne  geophysical  surveys  are  being  deployed  in specific areas for high-resolution subsurface data.
-  Real-Time  Monitoring: CGWB  conducts  real-time  groundwater  level monitoring through a nationwide  network  of  around  23,000  Digital  Water  Level  Recorders  (DWLRs)  equipped  with telemetry systems. This network facilitates the transmission of near real-time data on groundwater levels to a central server, helping in devising more focused conservation plans.
-  Web-based Platforms: CGWB developed the India-Groundwater Resource Estimation System (INGRES),  a  web-based  application  that  provides  a  standardized  platform  for  groundwater  resource assessment across the country. Such data forms the scientific basis for implementing schemes like MGNREGA, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Shakti Abhiyan etc.
-  The JSA: CTR dashboard: is a central digital platform created by the National Water Mission under this Ministry for monitoring, evaluating and managing the "Catch the Rain" (CTR) campaign under

the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA). It serves as a data collection and analysis hub to track progress on water conservation activities and facilitates the creation of scientific water conservation plans.

-  Reservoir level and Flood monitoring: 'Flood Watch India' app, developed in-house by the Central Water  Commission,  utilizes  advanced  technologies  such  as  satellite  data  analysis,  mathematical modelling and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts. The app provides information  about  592  flood  monitoring  stations  and  also  regarding  the  storage  positions  of  150 major reservoirs in the country.
-  GIS based monitoring: Various irrigation/water conservation structures created under PMKSY- SMI, RRR, Atal Bhujal Yojana etc. are monitored through GIS based applications and tools.
-  Use of Satellite and Remote sensing data: The Ministry is actively collaborating with agencies like Bhaskaracharya  National  Institute  for  Space  Applications  and  Geo-informatics  (BISAG  -N)  and Space  Application  Centre,  Ahmedabad  for  making  use  of  satellite  and  remote  sensing  data  for various kinds of mapping and monitoring of water resources.
-  Additionally, extensive use of digital dashboards, web portals, mobile apps etc. is being made for collection and dissemination of data and performance monitoring of several schemes of the Ministry like PMKSY, NMCG, Atal Bhujal Yojana, MI census etc.

(e) Pratapgarh  and  Udaipur  districts  of  Rajasthan  were  not  included  under  the  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  and only Chittorgarh district was included under the Scheme. The major works carried out in the Chittorgarh district under the Atal Bhujal Yojana are as follows:

-  About 3700 hectares area brought under efficient water-use practices like drip, sprinklers, pipelines, crop shifting (cotton/ paddy to pulses, millets, etc.) and other water saving methods (like polyhouse, mulching, etc.).
-  More than 700 wells have been identified for groundwater level monitoring.
-  Around 220 artificial recharge / water conservation structures have been geotagged.
-  31 Piezometers have been constructed in the district under the scheme.
-  40 rain gauge stations have been installed in Atal Jal Gram Panchayats.
-  337 supply-side structures have been constructed or renovated.
-  480 Gram Panchayat level trainings, 7 Block level trainings and 10 district level trainings have been conducted.

***

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1941 TO BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  11.12.2025  REGARDING  'COVERAGE  UNDER  ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA'.

State-wise number of gram panchayats covered under Atal Bhujal Yojana

| S. No.   | State          |   Districts |   Blocks |   Gram Panchayats |
|----------|----------------|-------------|----------|-------------------|
| 1        | Gujarat        |           6 |       36 |              1873 |
| 2        | Haryana        |          14 |       36 |              1647 |
| 3        | Karnataka      |          14 |       41 |              1199 |
| 4        | Madhya Pradesh |           6 |        9 |               670 |
| 5        | Maharashtra    |          13 |       43 |              1133 |
| 6        | Rajasthan      |          17 |       38 |              1132 |
| 7        | Uttar Pradesh  |          10 |       26 |               549 |
| Total    | Total          |          80 |      229 |              8203 |

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