Lok Sabha Question No. 6277 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Groundwater Extraction by High-Rise Apartments
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Damodar Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6277

## ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026

## GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION BY HIGH-RISE APARTMENTS

## †6277. SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has assessed the declining groundwater levels in view of increasing pressure on groundwater resources due to domestic use in high-rise apartments across the country and if so, the details thereof;

(b)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  strengthen  water  conservation  initiatives  and  groundwater recharge  programmes  under  schemes  like  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana  and  other  groundwater  management initiatives to ensure sustainable water availability and if so, the details thereof;

(c)  whether  the  large-scale  groundwater  extraction  is  taking  place  for  domestic  use  in  high-rise apartments in Delhi and adjoining districts such as Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Gurugram and Sonipat and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the restrictions imposed by the Government to prevent depletion of groundwater levels in these areas?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) Ground water level monitoring is conducted on a regular basis by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under this Ministry and respective State Governments. Analysis of data on ground water levels recorded by CGWB, for the entire country, indicates that about 73.25 % of the wells monitored in the country  have  registered  rise  in  groundwater  level  during  the  post  monsoon  (November/December) monitoring of 2025 as compared to decadal mean ground water level of previous ten years (2015-24).

Further,  assessment  of  Dynamic  Ground  Water  Resources  of  the  country  is  being  carried  out annually  since  2022  by  the  Central  Ground  Water  Board  (CGWB)  in  coordination  with  the  State governments.  Perusal  of  assessment  data  over  the  years  indicates  that  the  total  annual  groundwater recharge in the country has increased from 432 BCM in 2017 to 448.52 BCM in 2025. Further, the share of Safe assessment units has increased from 62.6% to 73.14%, while Over-exploited units have declined from 17.2% to 10.8% over the same period, indicating an overall improvement in groundwater status.

However,  despite  favourable  conditions  in  the  country  as  a  whole,  some  pockets  may  be experiencing  seasonal  ground  water  stress  due  to  various  factors  like  high  population  density,  rapid urbanization and industrialization, dependence on water intensive crops, inefficient irrigation practices, climate change etc.

(b) 'Water' being a State subject, sustainable development and management of water and 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 including under Atal Bhujal Yojana and other groundwater management initiatives. The major steps taken in this direction, including the latest initiatives are provided 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,  which  has 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.  Thus  far,  more  than  50  lakh  rain  water  harvesting and artificial recharge structures have been constructed across the country under this initiative.
- iii. To  further  boost  the  water  conservation  efforts,  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. M/o  Jal  Shakti  has  successfully  demonstrated  the  efficacy  of  community  led  participatory ground  water  management  through  Atal  Bhujal  Yojana,  which  was  implemented  in  8,203 water  stressed  Gram  Panchayats  of  229  Blocks  across  7  States,  viz.  Gujarat,  Haryana, Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Rajasthan  and  Uttar  Pradesh.  Under  the  scheme, community led preparation of Water Budgets (WBs) and Water Security Plans (WSPs) was completed  and  annually  updated  for  all  covered  GPs.  Further,  construction/rejuvenation  of more than 83,000 rain water harvesting and recharge structures like check dams, ponds, shafts etc. was done under the scheme and an area of more than 9.7 lakh Hectares was brought under efficient irrigation practices like use of drips, sprinklers etc. As a result, 180 out of 229 Blocks have shown improvement in ground water levels during the assessments conducted between 2023 to 2025.
- v. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India which aimed at developing and rejuvenating at least 75 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.

- vi. 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.
- vii. After  the  successful  completion  of  NAQUIM  1.0,  which  mapped  country's  aquifers  and provided  a  macro-level  understanding  of  our  nation's  groundwater  resources,  the  Central Ground Water Board has 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.
- viii. CGWB has also prepared the Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 for the entire country and  shared with States/UTs, for serving as a technical guidebook  for construction of rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures.

(c) & (d) The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti is involved in regulation of ground water extraction at the central level. Apart from that, 17 States/UTs, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and NCT of Delhi are having their own regulatory mechanism/bodies. CGWA issues No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for ground water extraction in 19 States/UTs for various purposes in accordance with its Guidelines dated 24.09.2020. As per the Guidelines, ground water extraction charges are levied on various projects, including industries and residential apartments/group housing societies, as per the prescribed quantum linked slabs, subject to compliance of stipulated  conditions. CGWA has also 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.

As per the data available with CGWA, ground water extraction for domestic purposes is 71.88% of the  total  ground  water  extraction  in  Delhi;  15.62  %  in  Ghaziabad;  3.21%  in  G.B.Nagar;  18.60%  in Faridabad; 11.81% in Gurugram and 13.24% in Sonepat. The figures represent the total ground water extraction for domestic purposes including high rise apartments.

The CGWA Guidelines stipulates that NOC for residential apartments/group housing societies shall be  granted  only  in  such  cases  where  the  local  Government  water  supply  agency  is  unable  to  supply requisite  amount  of  water  in  the  area.  Further,  installation  of  digital  water  flow  meters  in  all  wells extracting ground water is mandatory for all Residential Apartments and Group Housing Societies.

Moreover, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has formulated Model Building Bye Laws  (MBBL),  2016  for  the  States/UTs,  wherein  adequate  focus  has  been  given  on  requirement  of rainwater harvesting and water conservation measures. As per MBBL, all buildings having a plot size of 100  Sq.m.  or  more  shall  mandatorily  include  the  complete  proposal  of  rainwater  harvesting  and  as informed by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the same is being followed in Delhi.

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