THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) document indicates that agriculture consumes around 80% of India’s available water resources. As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment of the country, conducted jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments in 2017, about 89% of the total ground water extracted is used for agricultural activities.
(b) Water being a State subject, measures for management of water resources is primarily taken by respective State Governments. Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments by providing technical and financial assistance through various schemes and programmes. Central Government has taken various steps for sustainable management of ground water in the country.
Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), a campaign for water conservation and water security, was launched by Ministry of Jal Shakti. During the campaign, officers, groundwater experts and scientists from the Government of India worked together with State and district officials in India’s most water-stressed districts for water conservation and water resources management.
Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY), a Rs.6000 crore scheme with World Bank funding, for sustainable management of ground water with community participation has recently launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. The identified over-exploited and water stressed areas for the implementation of the scheme fall in the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
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Other important measures taken by the Central Government towards sustainable management of ground water in the country are given at the following URL:
http://mowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps_to_control_water_depletion_Jun2019.pdf.
(c) As per the 2017 Dynamic Ground Water Resources assessment of the country, out of 8 assessment units in Himachal Pradesh, 4 , 1 and 3 units have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’, Semi-critical and Safe respectively. Out of 18 assessment units in Uttrakhand, 5 units have been categorized as Semi-critical and rest 13 units have been categorized as Safe. In Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern States, all the assessment units have been categorized as Safe. Further, as informed by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, an autonomous research institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology, a number of springs have either dried up or are on the verge of drying in Himalayan region.
(d) Government of India has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in select 500 cities across the country for a period of five years i.e. from 2015-16 to 2019-20 with focus on development of basic civic amenities in the Mission cities. Under the water supply component of the Mission, projects related to rain water harvesting, rejuvenation of water bodies specifically for drinking water supply, recharging of ground water, etc., can be taken up by the States/UTs to enhance water supply in the Mission cities.
To enable every household in the country to have potable water at service level of 55 litre per capita per day (lpcd) through Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) by 2024, Government of India, in partnership with the states, has launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
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