Jal Shakti | Status on Water Scarcity and Over Exploitation of Ground Water

As reported by States/ UTs, as on 31.03.2022, out of 17.01 lakh rural habitations of the country, 13.25 lakh (77.90%) habitations having 78.07% population have provision of potable drinking water with supply level of more than 40 litre per capita per day (lpcd) and 3.47 lakh (20.37%) habitations having 20.57% population with supply level of less than 40 lpcd with sources at a reasonable distance and 0.29 lakh (1.73%) rural habitations having 1.36% population are reported to have water quality issues in drinking water sources.

Since August, 2019, Government of India in partnership with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – ‘Har Ghar Jal’ to make provision of potable tap water supply to every rural household of the country by 2024. The estimated outlay of the mission is Rs. 3.60 lakh Crore, out of which Central share is Rs. 2.08 lakh Crore.

Under JJM, provisions have been made for sustainability of drinking water sources throughout the design period of the scheme. The source sustainability plans form part of Village Action Plans (VAPs) that are prepared for every village before implementation of the scheme. This is achieved through sustainability measures like rain water harvesting, artificial recharge, etc. For ground water based sources, borewell recharge structures will be part of the scheme. For surface water based Single Village Schemes (SVS), source sustainability measures like watershed management, water conservation, etc. are to be ensured. In addition, taking up augmentation and strengthening of local & traditional drinking water sources in convergence with other schemes at village level viz. MGNREGA, 15^th Finance Commission tied grants to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs), Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), State schemes, District Mineral Development Fund, CSR funds, community contribution, etc. have also been envisaged under the JJM.

Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. For supplementing the efforts of the States, the Central Government has taken various steps for sustainable ground water management in the country. Details are available at: http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_Feb2021.pdf.

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring the ground water levels throughout the country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. In order to assess the long-term fluctuation in ground water level, the water level data collected by CGWB during November, 2021 has been compared with the decadal mean of November (2011-2020). Analysis of water level data revealed that about 30% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water level whereas, about 70 % wells have registered rise in water level. The States/ UTs where water level monitored have registered fall more than 30% are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Haryana, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, Nagaland and Uttarakhand. The States/ UTs where water level monitored have registered rise more than 70% are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (Annex-III).

The Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being periodically assessed jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2020 assessment, Total Annual Ground Water Recharge is 436 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 398 BCM. The Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses is 245 BCM. The Stage of Ground Water Extraction, which is a measure of Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses (irrigation, industrial and domestic uses) over Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 62% for the country as a whole.

As per the 2020 assessment, out of the total 6965 assessment units (Block/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the country, 1114 units (16%) have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’ spreading over 205 districts in 15 States/UTs where the Annual Ground Water Extraction is more than Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource. Similarly 270 units have been categorized as ‘Critical’ spreading over 155 districts in 18 States/UTs, where the Annual Ground Water Extraction is between 90% and 100% of the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource.

Details of the number of assessment units under ‘Over-Exploited’ categories are at Annex-I. Details of the number of assessment units under ‘Critical’ categories are at Annex-II. State-wise Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean for period [November (2011 to 2020] and November 2021] are at Annex-III.

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written  reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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AS

Annex-I

Details of the number of assessment units under ‘Over-Exploited’ categories

Annex-II

Details of the number of assessment units under ‘Critical’ categories

Annex-III

State-wise Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean [November (2011 to 2020] and November 2021