THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION
(DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)
(a) The average annual precipitation is about 4000 billion cubic meters (BCM). As per the assessment done by Central Water Commission, the average annual water availability in the country is 1869 BCM. The remaining water is lost to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration from barren lands, forests, natural vegetation, rainfed agriculture, natural ponds and lakes etc. It is estimated that owing to topographic, hydrological and other constraints, the utilizable water is 1123 BCM which comprises of 690 BCM of surface water and 433 BCM of replenishable ground water resources. It has been estimated that about 450 BCM of surface water & 245 BCM of ground water is being utilized for various purposes. The rest of the water could be considered to be flowing down to sea.
(b) &(c) State Governments undertake several measures for augmenting, conserving and utilizing the water resources which inter-alia include conservation of water resources in reservoirs and traditional water bodies, rain water harvesting and artificial recharge of ground water. This Ministry provides technical and financial assistance to the State Governments in this regard through various schemes and programmes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP), Scheme for Repair, Renovation & Restoration (RRR) of Water-bodies etc.
Central Ground Water Board, under this Ministry has prepared a conceptual document entitled “Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water in India” during the year 2013 envisaging construction of 1.11 crore Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Recharge structures in the country to harness 85 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters) of water. The augmented ground water resources will enhance the availability of water for drinking, domestic, industrial and irrigation purposes. The Master Plan has been circulated to all State Governments for implementation.
Water conservation and water harvesting structures to augment ground water constitute a special focus area for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) works and about 2/3rd of the expenditure is directly related to construction of such structures.
Central Government has launched the National Water Mission with the objective of conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management. One of the goals of National Water Mission is ‘promotion of citizen and state action for water conservation, augmentation and preservation’.
(d) The concerned State Governments facilitate construction of dams/check dams/farm ponds etc. to store rainwater for various uses. As per available information, storage capacity of about 253 BCM has been created in the country so far. The State-wise details of storage created is given in Annexure.
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Annexure
(Annexure referred in reply to part (d) of Unstarred Question No.+1858 to be answered on 28.07.2016 in the Lok Sabha regarding Storage of Rain Water)
Live storage capacity
Sl. No.
STATE/U.T. Total Live Storage Capacity (BCM)
1. ANDAMAN & NICOBAR 0.019
2. ARUNACHAL PRADESH 0.000006
3. ANDHRA PRADESH 28.716
4. ASSAM 0.012
5. BIHAR 2.613
6. CHHATTISGARH 6.736
7. GOA 0.290
8. GUJARAT 18.359
9. HIMACHAL PRADESH 13.792
10. JAMMU AND KASHMIR 0.029
11. JHARKHAND 2.436
12. KARNATAKA 31.896
13. KERALA 9.768
14. MAHARASHTRA 37.358
15. MADHYA PRADESH 33.075
16. MANIPUR 0.407
17. MEGHALAYA 0.479
18. NAGALAND 1.220
19. ORISSA 23.934
20. PUNJAB 2.402
21. RAJASTHAN 9.708
22. SIKKIM 0.007
23. TAMIL NADU 7.859
24. TRIPURA 0.312
25. UTTARAKHAND 5.670
26. UTTAR PRADESH 14.263
27. WEST BENGAL 2.027
28. MIZORAM 0.000
Total 253.388
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