(a) whether the level of ground water is rapidly depleting in various parts of the country causing thereby shortage of drinking water in the said area;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise including Chhattisgarh;
(c) whether any scheme for ground water recharge is under consideration of the Government; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)
(a) & (b) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring the ground water levels throughout the country including Chhattisgarh 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 2020 has been compared with the decadal mean of November (2010-2019). Analysis of water level data indicates that about 30% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water levels in the range of 0 – 2 m whereas, around 45% of the wells have also reported rise of groundwater levels in the same range. The State-wise details including Chhattisgarh are given in Annexure.
No specific information about linkage of depleting groundwater levels with shortage of drinking water is available. However, Government of India, in partnership with State Governments, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) since August, 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality to every rural household in the country by 2024.
(c) Presently no specific new scheme for groundwater recharge is under consideration with this Department.
Contd…P/2
//2//
(d) Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management including groundwater recharge is primarily States’ responsibility. However, important measures taken by the Central Government for conservation, management of ground water and effective implementation of rain water harvesting in the country are available at the following URL:
http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_Feb2021.pdf.
Government of India (GoI) generally supports artificial groundwater recharge/water harvesting works in the country through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Watershed Development component (PMKSY-WDC), ‘Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies schemes’, components of PMKSY (launched in 2015-16). GoI is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a Rs.6,000 crore central sector scheme, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation. Atal Jal is being implemented in 81 water stressed districts and 8,774 gram panchayats of seven States viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
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ANNEXURE
Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Unstarred Question No.†913 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 02.12.2021 regarding “Shortage of Drinking Water”.
State-wise Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean [November (2010 to 2019] and November 2020
S. No. Name of State No. of wells Analysed Rise Fall Rise Fall Wells showing no change
0-2 m 2-4 m >4 m 0-2 m 2-4 m >4 m
No % No % No % No % No % No % No % No % No %
1 Andhra Pradesh 688 395 57.4 92 13.4 38 5.5 146 21.2 12 1.7 5 0.7 525 76 163 24 0 0
2 Arunachal Pradesh 3 3 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 100 0 0 0 0
3 Assam 158 113 71.5 5 3.2 2 1.3 35 22.2 3 1.9 0 0.0 120 76 38 24 0 0
4 Bihar 536 284 53.0 41 7.6 4 0.7 184 34.3 17 3.2 6 1.1 329 61 207 39 0 0
5 Chandigarh 11 3 27.3 2 18.2 0 0.0 5 45.5 0 0.0 1 9.1 5 45 6 55 0 0
6 Chhattisgarh 700 261 37.3 41 5.9 15 2.1 312 44.6 53 7.6 18 2.6 317 45 383 55 0 0
7 Dadra & Nagar Haveli # 17 11 64.7 2 11.8 1 5.9 3 17.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 14 82 3 18 0 0
8 Daman & Diu 9 7 77.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 22.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 7 78 2 22 0 0
9 Delhi 80 11 13.8 3 3.8 4 5.0 31 38.8 19 23.8 12 15.0 18 23 62 78 0 0
10 Goa 65 7 10.8 0 0.0 1 1.5 50 76.9 7 10.8 0 0.0 8 12 57 88 0 0
11 Gujarat 736 279 37.9 93 12.6 116 15.8 179 24.3 49 6.7 20 2.7 488 66 248 34 0 0
12 Haryana 312 83 26.6 5 1.6 7 2.2 94 30.1 44 14.1 78 25.0 95 30 216 69 1 0
13 Himachal Pradesh 88 31 35.2 3 3.4 2 2.3 47 53.4 3 3.4 2 2.3 36 41 52 59 0 0
14 Jammu & Kashmir 163 42 25.8 3 1.8 2 1.2 106 65.0 9 5.5 1 0.6 47 29 116 71 0 0
15 Jharkhand 276 162 58.7 42 15.2 17 6.2 49 17.8 5 1.8 1 0.4 221 80 55 20 0 0
16 Karnataka 1316 632 48.0 181 13.8 123 9.3 325 24.7 33 2.5 22 1.7 936 71 380 29 0 0
17 Kerala 1334 537 40.3 24 1.8 6 0.4 738 55.3 23 1.7 6 0.4 567 43
767 57 0 0
18 Madhya Pradesh 1294 594 45.9 160 12.4 43 3.3 372 28.7 83 6.4 42 3.2 797 62 497 38 0 0
19 Maharashtra** 3611 1815 50.3 592 16.4 262 7.3 869 24.1 53 1.5 20 0.6 2669 74 942 26 0 0
20 Meghalaya 23 13 56.5 1 4.3 0 0.0 9 39.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 14 61 9 39 0 0
21 Nagaland 2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 1 50.0 0 0.0 0 0 2 100 0 0
22 Odhisha 1204 762 63.3 47 3.9 6 0.5 366 30.4 19 1.6 3 0.2 815 68 388 32 1 0
23 Pondicherry 6 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 66.7 2 33.3 0 0.0 0 0 6 100 0 0
24 Punjab 250 55 22.0 10 4.0 3 1.2 89 35.6 38 15.2 54 21.6 68 27 181 72 1 0
25 Rajasthan 962 271 28.2 89 9.3 69 7.2 288 29.9 105 10.9 137 14.2 429 45 530 55 3 0
26 Tamil Nadu 629 211 33.5 64 10.2 44 7.0 192 30.5 55 8.7 62 9.9 319 51 309 49 1 0
27 Telangana 549 200 36.4 121 22.0 177 32.2 45 8.2 3 0.5 3 0.5 498 91 51 9 0 0
28 Tripura 21 18 85.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 9.5 1 4.8 0 0.0 18 86 3 14 0 0
29 Uttar Pradesh 632 264 41.8 43 6.8 14 2.2 240 38.0 48 7.6 23 3.6 321 51 311 49 0 0
30 Uttarakhand 47 13 27.7 2 4.3 1 2.1 21 44.7 8 17.0 2 4.3 16 34 31 66 0 0
31 West Bengal 633 264 41.7 65 10.3 42 6.6 167 26.4 45 7.1 49 7.7 371 59 261 41 1 0
Total 16355 7341 44.9 1731 10.6 999 6.1 4971 30.4 738 4.5 567 3.5 10071 62 6276 38 8 0
** State Govt Data used in respect of Maharashtra
# November 2019 data used in respect of Dadra Nagar Haveli
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