Central Ground Water Board is periodically monitoring the ground water levels throughout the Country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. Analysis of water level data collected by CGWB during November 2022 in comparison with the decadal mean of November (2012-2021) has revealed that about 61.1% of the wells monitored have registered rise in ground water level whereas, about 38.9 % wells have registered fall in water level.
The drinking water supply schemes include groundwater (open well, borewell, tube well, handpumps, etc.), ancient & traditional surface water (river, reservoir, lake, pond, springs, etc.) and rain water stored in small tanks. For long-term sustainability of water supply system and for supplementing the efforts of the States for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources, the Central Government has taken various steps for sustainable ground water management in the country. A few of these are as under:
i.) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has taken up National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) programme under Ground Water Management and Regulation scheme with the objectives to delineate the aquifers, characterize them and prepare management plans.
ii.) The Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater – 2020 has been prepared with respective State counterparts. The master plan includes artificial recharge in both rural and urban areas including water scarce cities.
iii.) Government of India is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country. First JSA was launched in 2019 in water stressed blocks of 256 districts in the country with the primary aim to effectively harvest the monsoon rainfall through creation of artificial recharge structures, watershed management, recharge and reuse structures, intensive afforestation and awareness generation etc. Further, to emphasize the important of sustainability of ground water for drinking water supply schemes, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2023 is targeting “Source sustainability for drinking water” for source strengthening/ sources stabilization of rural drinking water supply schemes.
iv.) Central Government is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana, in collaboration with States, in certain water stressed areas of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The primary aim of the scheme is demand side management through scientific means involving the local communities at village levels leading to sustainable groundwater management in the targeted areas.
Further details of steps taken for sustainable ground water management are available at:
https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploads/2023/02/2023021742.pdf
This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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PK/AS