Question : Annual Ground Water Consumption

(a) whether as per the assessment report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) 1034 of the 6584 blocks in the country are over exploited in annual ground water consumption;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for over exploitation of ground water;

(c) whether the Government has drawn an ambitious plan to tackle water depletion through efficient management of available water resources and strengthening of recharge mechanism through community participation under Atal Bhujal Yojana recently and if so, the details thereof along with the expenditure likely to be involved therein;

(d) whether the World Bank is also likely to support this yojana by granting a loan and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to prevent over exploitation of ground water in excess of its recharge?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION & PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

(SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a) & (b) As per the assessment of dynamic ground water resources of country (As on 31st March 2013) carried out jointly by Central Ground Water Board and State Ground Water Departments, out of the total 6584 numbers of assessment units (Block/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watershed/ Firkka), 1034 units have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’. State-wise number of ‘Over-exploited’ units are given at Annexure. This may be due to increase in population, rapid urbanization & industrialization and other related factors.

(c) & (d) Government has proposed Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) aimed at sustainable ground water management with community participation in select over-exploited and ground water stressed areas in seven States (Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh). ABHY is designed as a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 6,000 Crore and is proposed to be implemented with World Bank assistance on 50-50 sharing basis.

(e) Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources to ensure sustainability and availability are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. However, 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_1.pdf


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ANNEXURE
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) & (b) of Unstarred Question No. 3236 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 15.03.2018 regarding “Annual Ground Water Consumption”.

CATEGORIZATION OF BLOCKS/ MANDALS/ TALUKS IN INDIA
(2013)

Sl.
No. States /
Union Territories Total No. of
Assessed Units Over-
Exploited
Nos. %
States
1. Andhra Pradesh 670 61 9
2. Arunachal Pradesh 11 0 0
3. Assam 27 0 0
4. Bihar 534 0 0
5. Chhattisgarh 146 1 1
6. Delhi 27 15 56
7. Goa 12 0 0
8. Gujarat 223 23 10
9. Haryana 119 64 54
10. Himachal Pradesh 8 1 13
11. Jammu & Kashmir 22 0 0
12. Jharkhand 260 4 2
13. Karnataka 176 43 24
14. Kerala 152 1 1
15. Madhya Pradesh 313 25 8
16. Maharashtra 353 9 3
17. Manipur 9 0 0
18. Meghalaya 11 0 0
19. Mizoram 22 0 0
20. Nagaland 11 0 0
21. Odisha 314 0 0
22. Punjab 138 105 76
23. Rajasthan 248 164 66
24. Sikkim - - -
25. Tamil Nadu 1139 358 31
26. Telangana 443 46 10
27. Tripura 39 0 0
28. Uttar Pradesh 820 113 14
29. Uttarakhand 18 0 0
30. West Bengal 268 0 0
Total (States) 6533 1033 16
Union Territories
1. Andaman & Nicobar 34 0 0
2. Chandigarh 1 0 0
3. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1 0 0
4. Daman & Diu 2 0 0
5. Lakshadweep 9 0 0
6. Puducherry 4 1 25
Total (UTs) 51 1 2
Grand Total 6584 1034 16

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