(a) whether it is a fact that in some parts of the country especially in big cities there has been serious depletion of ground water;
(b) if so, the details thereof,
(c) whether any research has been conducted to find out the reasons and consequent effects of decrease in ground water level; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to mitigate the problem?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)
(a) & b) The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring ground water levels throughout the country including urban areas on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. In order to assess the long term fluctuation in ground water level, the water level data collected by CGWB during November 2021 has been compared with the decadal mean of November (2011-2020). Analysis of water level data indicates that about 30% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water level whereas about 70% wells have registered rise in water level. Further, with respect to big cities of the country the analysis as mentioned above indicates rise in groundwater levels in around 65.4% wells. State-wise details and information with respect to big cities are given at Annexure I and Annexure II respectively.
(c) As per available information, the 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.
Some of the consequential effects of decrease in ground water levels may be considered as drying up of wells, reduction of water in streams and lakes, deterioration of water quality , increased pumping costs, land subsidence etc. However, the ground water is a dynamic replenishable resource, which gets recharged every year through rainfall and other sources such as return flow from irrigation, canal seepage, recharge from surface water bodies etc.
(d) Though water is a State subject, Central Government has taken a number of important measures for conservation, management of ground water including effective implementation of rain water harvesting in the country, which can be seen at URL:http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_ Feb2021.pdf. Some of the important initiatives in this regard are also given at Annexure III.
Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019 in 256 water stressed districts in the country which continued during 2021 also to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the country. Further, the campaign “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22 March 2021.
In addition, a number of States have done notable work in the field of water conservation/harvesting such as ‘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, ‘Jal Hi Jeevan’ in Haryana, and Kudimaramath scheme in Tamil Nadu etc.
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ANNEXURE I
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3471 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 24.03.2022 REGARDING “DEPLETION OF GROUND WATER”.
State-wise Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean [November (2011 to 2020] and November 2021
S. No. Name of State No. of wells Analysed Rise Fall Rise Fall Wells showing no change
0-2 m 2-4 m >4 m 0-2 m 2-4 m >4 m
No % No % No % No % No % No % No % No % No %
1 Andhra Pradesh 706 419 59.3 87 12.3 50 7.1 124 17.6 14 2.0 11 1.6 556 79 149 21 1 0
2 Arunachal Pradesh 10 2 20.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 8 80.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 20 8 80 0 0
3 Assam 167 71 42.5 3 1.8 1 0.6 83 49.7 6 3.6 3 1.8 75 45 92 55 0 0
4 Bihar 593 395 66.6 78 13.2 11 1.9 102 17.2 7 1.2 0 0.0 484 82 109 18 0 0
5 Chandigarh 12 4 33.3 2 16.7 1 8.3 3 25.0 1 8.3 1 8.3 7 58 5 42 0 0
6 Chhattisgarh 687 290 42.2 66 9.6 30 4.4 230 33.5 45 6.6 26 3.8 386 56 301 44 0 0
7 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 17 15 88.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 11.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 15 88 2 12 0 0
8 Daman & Diu 5 2 40.0 1 20.0 1 20.0 1 20.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 80 1 20 0 0
9 Delhi 86 29 33.7 21 24.4 15 17.4 12 14.0 3 3.5 6 7.0 65 76 21 24 0 0
10 Goa 68 9 13.2 0 0.0 1 1.5 52 76.5 5 7.4 1 1.5 10 15 58 85 0 0
11 Gujarat 746 278 37.3 122 16.4 112 15.0 140 18.8 50 6.7 44 5.9 512 69 234 31 0 0
12 Haryana 183 66 36.1 6 3.3 8 4.4 65 35.5 19 10.4 19 10.4 80 44 103 56 0 0
13 Himachal Pradesh 86 40 46.5 5 5.8 2 2.3 36 41.9 1 1.2 1 1.2 47 55 38 44 1 1
14 Jammu & Kashmir 213 100 46.9 4 1.9 3 1.4 99 46.5 4 1.9 3 1.4 107 50 106 50 0 0
15 Jharkhand 198 132 66.7 17 8.6 1 0.5 45 22.7 3 1.5 0 0.0 150 76 48 24 0 0
16 Karnataka 1290 709 55.0 265 20.5 123 9.5 159 12.3 20 1.6 14 1.1 1097 85 193 15 0 0
17 Kerala 1304 868 66.6 145 11.1 39 3.0 227 17.4 17 1.3 8 0.6 1052 81 252 19 0 0
18 Madhya Pradesh 1297 590 45.5 164 12.6 97 7.5 345 26.6 70 5.4 31 2.4 851 66 446 34 0 0
19 Maharashtra 1727 856 49.6 321 18.6 161 9.3 317 18.4 47 2.7 24 1.4 1338 77 388 22 1 0
20 Meghalaya 24 10 41.7 1 4.2 0 0.0 13 54.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 11 46 13 54 0 0
21 Nagaland 2 1 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 0 0.0 1 50 1 50 0 0
22 Odhisha 1245 650 52.2 32 2.6 2 0.2 517 41.5 35 2.8 8 0.6 684 55 560 45 1 0
23 Pondicherry 6 3 50.0 1 16.7 0 0.0 2 33.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 67 2 33 0 0
24 Punjab 176 46 26.1 7 4.0 1 0.6 74 42.0 38 21.6 10 5.7 54 31 122 69 0 0
25 Rajasthan 918 248 27.0 80 8.7 44 4.8 290 31.6 114 12.4 141 15.4 372 41 545 59 1 0
26 Tamil Nadu 538 201 37.4 146 27.1 113 21.0 54 10.0 13 2.4 11 2.0 460 86 78 14 0 0
27 Telangana 537 203 37.8 114 21.2 133 24.8 73 13.6 5 0.9 9 1.7 450 84 87 16 0 0
28 Tripura 22 8 36.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 11 50.0 3 13.6 0 0.0 8 36 14 64 0 0
29 Uttar Pradesh 646 358 55.4 102 15.8 21 3.3 118 18.3 32 5.0 15 2.3 481 74 165 26 0 0
30 Uttarakhand 45 23 51.1 3 6.7 2 4.4 9 20.0 4 8.9 4 8.9 28 62 17 38 0 0
31 West Bengal 721 417 57.8 87 12.1 34 4.7 117 16.2 34 4.7 31 4.3 538 75 182 25 1 0
Total 14275 7043 49.3 1880 13.2 1006 7.0 3328 23.3 591 4.1 421 2.9 9929 70 4340 30 6 0
ANNEXURE II
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3471 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 24.03.2022 REGARDING “DEPLETION OF GROUND WATER”.
Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean [NOVEMBER (2011 to 2020] and NOVEMBER 2021 in Urban Areas of the Country
S. No. Name of the City No. of wells Analysed Rise Fall Rise Fall
0-2 m 2-4 m >4 m 0-2 m 2-4 m >4 m
No % No % No % No % No % No % No % No %
1 Mumbai City 6 4 66.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 16.7 1 16.7 0 0.0 4 66.7 2 33.3
2 Mumbai Suburban 17 9 52.9 1 5.9 0 0.0 5 29.4 2 11.8 0 0.0 10 58.8 7 41.2
3 Delhi 86 29 33.7 21 24.4 15 17.4 12 14.0 3 3.5 6 7.0 65 75.6 21 24.4
4 Kolkata(Confined) 25 16 64.0 0 0.0 1 4.0 7 28.0 1 4.0 0 0.0 17 68.0 8 32.0
5 Chennai 21 12 57.1 7 33.3 2 9.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 21 100.0 0 0.0
6 Bangalore 18 12 66.7 2 11.1 1 5.6 3 16.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 15 83.3 3 16.7
7 Hyderabad 36 18 50.0 6 16.7 9 25.0 3 8.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 33 91.7 3 8.3
8 Ahmedabad (phreatic) 3 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 100.0
Ahmedabad (Confined) 1 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0
9 Nagpur 67 37 55.2 3 4.5 0 0.0 26 38.8 1 1.5 0 0.0 40 59.7 27 40.3
10 Nashik 4 1 25.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 75.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 25.0 3 75.0
11 Pune 3 1 33.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 66.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 33.3 2 66.7
12 Vasai Virar 2 1 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 1 50.0
13 Aurangabad 6 3 50.0 3 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 100.0 0 0.0
14 Kannur 3 1 33.3 2 66.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 100.0 0 0.0
15 Kochi 1 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0
16 Kollam 4 3 75.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 25.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 75.0 1 25.0
17 Kozhikode 12 11 91.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 8.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 11 91.7 1 8.3
18 Malappuram 5 4 80.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 20.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 80.0 1 20.0
19 Thiruvananthapuram 6 3 50.0 3 50.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 100.0 0 0.0
20 Thrissur 11 5 45.5 0.0 0 0.0 6 54.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 5 45.5 6 54.5
21 Patna 6 4 66.7 1 16.7 0 0.0 1 16.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 5 83.3 1 16.7
22 Ranchi 11 10 90.9 1 9.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 11 100.0 0 0.0
23 Dhanbad 4 1 25.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 25.0 2 50.0 0 0.0 1 25.0 3 75.0
24 Jamshedpur 1 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0
25 Bhopal 14 9 64.3 2 14.3 0 0.0 2 14.3 1 7.1 0 0.0 11 78.6 3 21.4
26 Indore 14 9 64.3 2 14.3 0 0.0 3 21.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 11 78.6 3 21.4
27 Jabalpur 16 6 37.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 8 50.0 2 12.5 0 0.0 6 37.5 10 62.5
28 Gwalior 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 1 100.0
29 Guwahati 31 13 41.9 2 6.5 0 0.0 11 35.5 5 16.1 0 0.0 15 48.4 16 51.6
30 Ludhiana 2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 0 0.0 2 100.0
31 Amritsar 4 2 50.0 1 25.0 0 0.0 1 25.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 75.0 1 25.0
32 Faridabad 2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 50.0 1 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 100.0
33 Chandigarh-UT 13 4 30.8 1 7.7 1 7.7 5 38.5 1 7.7 1 7.7 6 46.2 7 53.8
34 Coimbatore 6 0 0.0 2 33.3 2 33.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 33.3 4 66.7 2 33.3
35 Thiruchirapalli 6 1 16.7 4 66.7 1 16.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 100.0 0 0.0
36 Madurai 12 5 41.7 3 25.0 3 25.0 1 8.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 11 91.7 1 8.3
37 Vijayawada 8 2 25.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 25.0 2 25.0 2 25.0 2 25.0 6 75.0
38 Vishakhapatnam 27 13 48.1 2 7.4 0 0.0 8 29.6 1 3.7 3 11.1 15 55.6 12 44.4
39 Rajkot 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0
40 Surat 1 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0
41 Vadodara 4 0.0 1 25.0 3 75.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 100.0 0 0.0
42 Jaipur 28 2 7.1 2 7.1 7 25.0 2 7.1 6 21.4 9 32.1 11 39.3 17 60.7
43 Jodhpur 5 3 60.0 0 0.0 1 20.0 1 20.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 80.0 1 20.0
44 Kota 2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 100.0
45 Bhubaneswar 39 18 46.2 4 10.3 0 0.0 16 41.0 1 2.6 0 0.0 22 56.4 17 43.6
46 Agra 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0
47 Allahabad 4 1 25.0 2 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 25.0 0 0.0 3 75.0 1 25.0
48 Ghaziabad 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0
49 Kanpur 7 6 85.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 14.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 85.7 1 14.3
50 Lucknow 3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 33.3 0 0.0 2 66.7 0 0.0 3 100.0
51 Meerut 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0
52 Varanasi 1 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0
53 Raipur 6 1 16.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 66.7 1 16.7 0 0.0 1 16.7 5 83.3
54 Bhilai 6 2 33.3 1 16.7 0 0.0 2 33.3 1 16.7 0 0.0 3 50.0 3 50.0
55 Dehradun 45 18 40.0 5 11.1 3 6.7 15 33.3 4 8.9 0 0.0 26 57.8 19 42.2
TOTAL 670 304 45.4 85 12.7 49 7.3 168 25.1 37 5.5 27 4.0 438 65.4 232 34.6
Rajkot: WL data of Nov 2020 used in respect of Rajkot, Gujarat. Monitoring could not be carried out during NOV 2021
ANNEXURE-III
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3471 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 24.03.2022 REGARDING “DEPLETION OF GROUND WATER”.
Important initiatives on management of groundwater resources
Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019, a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks of 256 districts in India. In this regard, teams of officers from Central Government along-with technical officers from Ministry of Jal Shakti were deputed to visit water stressed districts and to work in close collaboration with district level officials to undertake suitable interventions.
In addition, Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) with the theme “Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls” to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country during 22nd March 2021 to 30th November 2021. The campaign was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22 March 2021.
Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR (DoWR, RD & GR) is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), a Rs.6,000 crore Central Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation. Atal Jal is being implemented in 80 water stressed districts and 8,565 Gram Panchayats of seven States viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), in consultation with States/UTs, has prepared ‘Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater - 2020’. The Master Plan – 2020 is a macro level plan indicating various structures for the different terrain conditions of the country. The Master Plan - 2020 envisages construction of about 1.42 crore rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM).
National Aquifer Mapping and Management program (NAQUIM) is being implemented by CGWB as part of Ground Water Management and Regulation (GWM & R) Scheme, a Central Sector scheme. NAQUIM envisages mapping of aquifers (water bearing formations), their characterization and development of Aquifer Management Plans to facilitate sustainable management of groundwater resources in the country. NAQUIM outputs are shared with States/UTs for suitable interventions.
Government of India generally supports artificial groundwater recharge/water harvesting works in the country through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Watershed Development component (PMKSY-WDC), ‘Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies schemes’ a component of PMKSY.
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