Management of Ground Water under way state wise

Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal has informed that Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has been entrusted with the responsibilities of developing & disseminating technologies, monitoring national policies for the scientific and substainable development and management of India’s ground water resources. CGWB periodically takes up various studies which include ground water management studies, exploratory drilling programmes, monitoring ground water level and water quality through a network of ground water observation wells etc and the result collected is shared with the concerned States for taking up suitable ground water specific interventions.

The National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) was initiated as a part of the Ground Water Management and Regulation scheme to delineate and characterize the aquifers to develop plans for ground water management.

Aquifer maps and management plans are being regularly shared with State Governments through the State Ground Water Coordination Committees, chaired by the concerned Principal Secretaries of the respective States and also with the respective District Authorities for their suitable ground water specific demand side and supply side interventions. To facilitate participation at grassroots levels, public interaction programmes (PIP) are being regularly organized  by the CGWB in which aquifer maps and management plans are discussed in detail.

The State-wise details of aquifer mapping work carried out by CGWB in India is given at Annexure.

ANNEXURE

State and UT-wise areas (in km²) for which aquifer maps have been prepared and management plans have been developed since the inception of the programme