(a) whether the water level of the majority of dams/ reservoirs across the country is continuously decreasing;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, State-wise; and
(c) the action plan of the Government in this regard and the extent of achievements made as a result thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) to (c) Water levels of reservoirs vary regularly depending on the rainfall in catchment area, evaporation, water releases etc. Central Water Commission is monitoring live storage status of 123 reservoirs of the country on weekly basis and is issuing weekly bulletin on every Thursday. The detailed Bulletin is available at http://www.cwc.gov.in/reservoirs-storage-bulletin.The total live storage capacity of these 123 reservoirs is 171.090 BCM which is about 66.36% of the live storage capacity of 257.812 BCM which is estimated to have been created in the country. As per reservoir storage bulletin dated 05.03.2020, live storage available in these reservoirs is 97.487 BCM, which is 57% of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. However, last year the live storage available in these reservoirs for the corresponding period was 62.85 BCM and the average of last 10 years live storage was 65.95 BCM. Thus, the live storage available in 123 reservoirs as per 05.03.2020 Bulletin is 155% of the live storage of corresponding period of last year and 148% of storage of average of last ten years. States having better storage (in %) than last year for corresponding period are Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Nagaland, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. States having lesser storage (in %) than last year for corresponding period are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Tripura.
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