Lok Sabha Question No. 1137 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Restoration of Lakes/Ponds/Wells/Step-wells for Groundwater Management
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Kaushalendra Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1137

ANSWERED ON 05.02.2026

## RESTORATION OF LAKES/PONDS/WELLS/STEP-WELLS FOR GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT

## †1137. SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the number of lakes, ponds, water tanks, wells and step-wells in the country along with their current status;

(b)  the  details  of  the  efforts  made  for  their  renovation  and  restoration  for  groundwater  management during the last five years, State-wise;

(c) the methods being adopted to recharge groundwater;

(d)  whether  the  Government is aware that lakes, ponds, water tanks, wells and step-wells have been illegally encroached upon by anti-social elements in various parts of the country; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the action taken against such encroachers so that groundwater can be protected for the future, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the 1 st Census of Water Bodies in 33 States/UTs under the Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  'Irrigation  Census'  with  reference  year  2017-18  with  100%  central assistance. Details on number of water bodies including lakes, ponds, tanks etc. along with number of water bodies 'in use' are given at Annexure-I.

(b) & (c) Ministry provides Central Assistance (CA) to States for creation and restoration of Irrigation Potential (I.P.) under the Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation & Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies schemes which is a part of 'Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana- Har Khet Ko Pani'  (PMKSY-HKKP). Under this scheme, Ministry has released a Central Assistance amounting to Rs. 376.12 crore during last five years. Also, Mother Sanction amounting to Rs. 218.265 crore has been issued during FY2025-26 till date to the States for the implementation of ongoing RRR of Water Bodies schemes under PMKSY-HKKP.  State wise details during last five years are given in Annexure-II.

The Ministry has 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, geotagging & 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 6th edition of JSA: CTR was launched on 22nd March 2025 with the theme 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari:  Jan  Jagrukta  Ki  Or'.  The  objective  of  Jal  Sanchay-Jan  Bhagidari  (JSJB)  is  to  ensure  that every drop of water is conserved through collective efforts, following a whole-of-society and whole-ofgovernment  approach.  Under  JSJB  1.0,  total  27.62  lakh  artificial  groundwater  recharge  and  storage works were taken up, with 23.83 lakh already completed by 31st May 2025.

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), under Ministry of Jal shakti has taken up Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme under the scheme of Ground Water Management and Regulation. Under National Aquifer Mapping (NAQUIM) Project, the entire mappable area of about 25 Lakh sq. km of the country has been completed. 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.  Under  Ground  Water  Management  &  Regulation scheme,  CGWB  has  implemented  several  successful  artificial  recharge  projects  in  the  country  for demonstrative  purpose  which  enables  the  State  Governments  to  replicate  the  same  in  suitable  hydro geological conditions.

(d)  &  (e) Action  on  reported  encroachment  of  water  bodies  comes  under  the  purview  of  the  State Government concerned. However, the Union Government has been sensitizing the State Governments regarding  importance  of  water  bodies.  Need  for  taking  necessary  steps  for  keeping  the  water  bodies encroachment free, such as stopping illegal construction, inclusion of water bodies in land records and making them integral part of town planning process, strict action against encroachers, etc. are also being emphasized to the State Governments by Union Government, from time to time.

***

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 1137 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 05.02.2026 REGARDING 'RESTORATION OF LAKES/PONDS/WELLS/STEP-WELLS FOR GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT'

Type-wise number of water bodies and number of 'in use' water bodies in the country as per 1 st Water Bodies Census

| Type of Water body                  | Total Number Water bodies    | of Number of bodies in use   |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|
| Ponds                               | 14,42,993                    | 11,81,077                    |
| Tanks                               | 3,81,805                     | 3,15,974                     |
| Lakes                               | 22,361                       | 9,558                        |
| Reservoirs                          | 2,92,280                     | 2,89,163                     |
| Water Conservation tanks/check dams | Schemes/percolation 2,26,217 | 1,88,915                     |
| Other                               | 58,884                       | 45,353                       |
| Total                               | 24,24,540                    | 20,30,040                    |

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  &  (c)  OF  THE  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 1137  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  05.02.2026  REGARDING 'RESTORATION OF LAKES/PONDS/WELLS/STEP-WELLS FOR GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT'

State -wise details of CA release under the RRR of Water Bodies component of PMKSY-HKKP

(Rs. In crore)

|             | S.No.State   | 2020-21   | 2021-22   |   2022-23 | 2023-24   | 2024-25   |
|-------------|--------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1 Bihar     | 0            | 8.62      | 7.28      |      7.78 | 0         |           |
| 2 Gujarat   | 0            | 0         | 3.16      |      2.57 |           | 0         |
| 3 Manipur   | 0            | 0         |           |      0    | 3.7       | 0         |
| 4 Nagaland  | 0            |           | 0         |      0    | 5.61      | 10.13     |
| 5 Odisha    | 34.54        |           | 0         |     11.1  | 56.25     | 46.67     |
| 6 Rajasthan | 0            |           | 0         |      9.3  | 10.46     | 35.99     |
| 7 Tamil     | Nadu 1.25    |           | 17.43     |     27.7  | 49.60     | 26.98     |
| Total       | Total        | 35.79     | 26.05     |     58.54 | 135.97    | 119.77    |

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