(a) whether the Government is aware that fast depletion of groundwater had affected the production of foodgrains in the country particularly in Tamil Nadu and if so, the effective measures taken by the Government in this regard;
(b) the steps taken by the Government to increase the groundwater level; and
(c) the funds allocated during the last three years in this regard, State and year-wise?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) & (b) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being periodically assessed jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the 2017 assessment, total Annual Ground Water Recharge in the country is 432 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 393 BCM.
The Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses is 249 BCM, out of which, 221 BCM (89%) utilized for irrigation purposes.
Ground water levels in various parts of the Country are declining because of continuous withdrawal necessitated by increased demand of fresh water for various uses, vagaries of rainfall, increased population, industrialization & urbanization etc. Depleting water table in some areas may have some effect on irrigation activities, however, Government has initiated a number of measures for supply side and demand side management to improve the water table in water stressed areas.
Water being a State subject, initiatives on sustainable ground water management is primarily States’ responsibility. A number of States have done notable work in the field of water management/conservation. Of these, mention can be made of ‘Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan’ in Rajasthan, ‘Jalyukt Shibar’ in Maharashtra, ‘Sujalam Sufalam Abhiyan’ in Gujarat, ‘Mission Kakatiya’ in Telangana, ‘Neeru Chettu’ in Andhra Pradesh, ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali’ in Bihar among others
Contd…P/2
//2//
Government of India has launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan which is a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks. The five important water conservation interventions are- water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse, bore well recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.
The other important measures taken by the Central Government are given at the following URL:http:// mowr.gov.in/ sites/default/ files/ Steps _to_ control _water_ depletion_ Jun 2019.pdf.
(c) Central Government supports construction of water harvesting and conservation works primarily through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – Watershed Development Component (PMKSY-WDC).
As per information received from Ministry of Rural Development, the expenditure on Water conservation & Water Harvesting under MGNREGS during last 3 years as uploaded by the States/UTs are given at Annexure I.
The State wise details of projects sanctioned, area covered by the projects and funds released as Central share to States under PMKSY-WDC are given at Annexure-II.
*****
ANNEXURE-I
Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of Unstarred Question No. 4153 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 19.03.2020 regarding “Depletion of Groundwater”.
Expenditure made on Water Conservation and Water Harvesting works (as on 12th Mar 2020)
Figs in Lakhs
S No. STATE 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
1 ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR 27.06 21.28 31.62
2 ANDHRA PRADESH 45,562.49 76,071.40 61,765.09
3 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 415.94 934.29 537.31
4 ASSAM 6,313.29 9,089.83 8,927.91
5 BIHAR 15,755.42 18,504.42 20,331.23
6 CHHATTISGARH 46,126.35 56,566.27 64,951.89
7 GOA 0.79 - 10.72
8 GUJARAT 9,356.21 19,053.33 21,857.23
9 HARYANA 4,808.16 5,390.08 4,355.24
10 HIMACHAL PRADESH 6,197.91 9,223.64 5,128.99
11 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 5,150.10 3,544.78 4,070.42
12 JHARKHAND 13,758.44 9,113.13 8,315.80
13 KARNATAKA 45,328.67 58,117.13 1,07,123.48
14 KERALA 52,218.32 90,084.51 78,488.69
15 LAKSHADWEEP 1.91 2.34 1.63
16 MADHYA PRADESH 49,305.13 97,836.62 1,34,618.37
17 MAHARASHTRA 28,266.58 32,335.89 18,010.28
18 MANIPUR 756.14 3,030.05 4,233.00
19 MEGHALAYA 7,612.55 5,418.09 17,430.97
20 MIZORAM 1,423.71 3,772.23 3,250.20
21 NAGALAND 6,735.86 1,788.46 2,968.78
22 ODISHA 15,535.24 15,135.74 16,635.87
23 PUDUCHERRY 273.47 340.05 428.65
24 PUNJAB 697.23 918.65 981.03
25 RAJASTHAN 76,775.45 1,12,731.28 1,58,226.56
26 SIKKIM 639.97 404.45 696.35
27 TAMIL NADU 52,329.75 2,18,461.69 2,92,348.34
28 TELANGANA 57,285.68 54,154.01 44,301.08
29 TRIPURA 7,190.17 9,378.79 11,084.90
30 UTTAR PRADESH 55,418.56 74,206.86 69,679.45
31 UTTARAKHAND 5,742.98 6,033.32 6,475.65
32 WEST BENGAL 67,365.18 41,352.50 41,157.39
Total 6,84,374.71 10,33,015.11 12,08,424.12
ANNEXURE -II
Annexure referred to in reply to part & (c) of Unstarred Question No. 4153 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 19.03.2020 regarding “Depletion of Groundwater”.
State-wise details of number of projects sanctioned, area covered by the projects and funds released during last five years and current year as Central share under WDC-PMKSY
(Area in million ha, Amount in Rs. crore)
Sl.
No
State Sanctioned
(from 2009-10 to 2014-15)@ Central share released
(from 2014-15 to 2019-20#)
Total no.
of Projects Area of the
projects
1 Andhra Pradesh 432 1.810 749.97
2 Arunachal Pradesh 156 0.467 125.62
3 Assam 372 1.577 222.30
4 Bihar 123 0.612 172.44
5 Chhattisgarh 263 1.195 177.91
6 Gujarat 610 3.103 526.73
7 Haryana 88 0.362 70.88
8 Himachal Pradesh 163 0.840 106.27
9 Jammu & Kashmir 159 0.652 192.55
10 Jharkhand 171 0.911 66.51
11 Karnataka 571 2.569 694.67
12 Kerala 83 0.423 102.06
13 Madhya Pradesh 517 2.937 1101.95
14 Maharashtra 1186 5.128 1077.40
15 Manipur 102 0.491 59.37
16 Meghalaya 96 0.236 83.55
17 Mizoram 89 0.373 161.40
18 Nagaland 111 0.476 391.07
19 Odisha 310 1.700 642.47
20 Punjab 67 0.314 15.91
21 Rajasthan 1025 5.764 1464.45
22 Sikkim 15 0.066 7.70
23 Tamil Nadu 270 1.368 434.72
24 Telangana 330 1.399 327.65
25 Tripura 65 0.213 110.35
26 Uttarakhand 65 0.346 108.55
27 Uttar Pradesh 612 3.045 272.70
28 West Bengal 163 0.693 214.65
Total 8214 39.07 9681.80
@ Sanctioned under the erstwhile Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), which has been amalgamated as the Watershed Development Component (WDC) of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with effect from 2015-16.
# As on 31.12.2019 including releases under the erstwhile IWMP.
Note: 1) WDC-PMKSY has not been taken up in any Union Territories( J&K and Laddakh have been created as UTs quite recently).
2) There is no sanctioned project in Goa.