(a) whether the Government is aware that Delhi is facing extremely low ground water level and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the principal framework under which ground water Management has been carried out;
(c) the list of top ten cities having lowest ground water reserves in India; and
(d) the steps taken by the Government to tackle the situation?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION & PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS
(SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)
(a) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) carries out ground water monitoring four times annually on regional scale throughout the Country including Delhi. As per recent monitoring, Pre-Monsoon, 2018 in Delhi, results were as follows :
No. of wells Analysed Depth to Water Level (mbgl) Number & Percentage of Wells Showing Depth to Water Level (mbgl) in the Range of
0-2 2-5 5-10 10-20 20-40 > 40
Min Max No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
82 0.71 65.00 1 1.22 16 19.51 16 19.51 24 29.27 16 19.51 9 10.98
(b) Water being a State subject, conservation, management and protection of water in the Country is primarily States’ responsibility
(c) CGWB carries out the estimation of ground water resources in association with State Ground Water Departments for assessment units i.e., Districts, Blocks, Mandals, talukas, Firkas etc. The ground water resources have not been assessed for cities separately.
(d) Steps taken by the Central Government for conservation of ground water are available at the following URL http://mowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/MeasuresForGW-Depletion_2.pdf.
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