Parliament Question: Assessment of Extent of Water Scarcity

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 698 ANSWERED ON 23.07.2026 ASSESSMENT OF EXTENT OF WATER SCARCITY 698. Shri MANICKAM TAGORE B: Shri VIJAYAKUMAR ALIAS VIJAY VASANTH: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has assessed the extent of water scarcity across States due to declining groundwater levels, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (b) whether the groundwater depletion has reached critical levels in certain regions, if so, the details thereof, State-wise; (c) whether the Government has implemented any programmes for groundwater recharge and conservation, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (d) whether the rainwater harvesting has been effectively promoted nationwide, if so, the details thereof including the targets set and achievements made and if not, the reasons therefor; (e) whether the watershed development programmes have improved water availability in rural areas, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and (f) whether adequate funds have been allocated for water conservation schemes, if so, the details thereof including their utilisation status and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are assessed annually by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in collaboration with the State Governments. As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, the total Annual Ground Water Recharge has been assessed at 448.52 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM), the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource at 407.75 BCM and the total Annual Ground Water Extraction at 247.22 BCM. The Stage of Ground Water Extraction for the country has been assessed at 60.63 per cent. Out of 6,762 assessment units (Blocks/Taluks/Mandals), 730 (10.80%) have been categorised as Over-exploited, 201 (2.97%) as Critical, 758 (11.21%) as Semi-Critical, 4,946 (73.14%) as Safe and 127 (1.88%) as Saline. The State/UT-wise details of groundwater resources are provided through link given below. https://www.jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/static/uploads/2025/11/711d8d476bbf498cd90f8038e7371227.pdf 1The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) monitors groundwater levels throughout the country. As per the post-monsoon 2025 monitoring, about 90 per cent of the analysed wells recorded groundwater levels between 0 and 10 metres below ground level. The State-wise depth-to-water level distribution is given at Annexure. Comparison of the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessments of 2017 and 2025 indicates an increase in annual groundwater recharge from 431.86 BCM to 448.52 BCM, a reduction in annual groundwater extraction and a decline in the Stage of Ground Water Extraction from 63.33 per cent to 60.63 per cent. During the same period, the proportion of assessment units categorised as Safe increased from 63 per cent to 73.14 per cent, while the proportion of Over-exploited assessment units declined from 17 per cent to 10.80 per cent. These trends reflect the sustained efforts of the Central and State Governments towards scientific groundwater management and conservation. (c) & (d) Water being a State subject, sustainable development and management of groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. However, the Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments by providing technical guidance, policy support and financial assistance through various schemes and programmes. The major initiatives taken to promote groundwater recharge, conservation and rainwater harvesting are as follows: i. The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) regulates groundwater extraction in the country through the Guidelines dated 24.09.2020 and amendments thereto. The Guidelines mandate implementation of rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge measures by industries, infrastructure and mining projects for obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for groundwater withdrawal and prescribe various water conservation measures. ii. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has completed the National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) covering about 25 lakh sq. km of the mappable area of the country. Aquifer maps and management plans have been shared with the State Governments for implementation. Building upon this, NAQUIM 2.0 has been initiated for detailed aquifer mapping in priority areas such as water-stressed regions, groundwater quality-affected areas, coastal areas, urban agglomerations, industrial clusters and springsheds to facilitate scientific groundwater management and recharge planning. iii. Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is an annual mission-mode campaign focusing on water conservation, rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse and recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation. As per the available information, more than 2 crore water conservation and artificial recharge works have been undertaken across the country through convergence under JSA. iv. The Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative, launched in 2024, promotes community participation in rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and water conservation. Thus far, more than 1.55 crore 2artificial groundwater recharge and water storage works have been constructed across the country under the initiative. Subsequently, the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari–Catch the Rain (JSJB-CTR) campaign was launched on 1st June, 2026 to further promote rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge across the country. v. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched to develop and rejuvenate at least 75 water bodies in every district of the country. Nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been developed/rejuvenated, contributing to enhanced water storage and groundwater recharge. vi. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued the Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016, which provide for rooftop rainwater harvesting in specified categories of buildings. So far, 35 States/UTs have incorporated these provisions in their respective building bye-laws to promote rainwater harvesting and augment groundwater recharge. (e) Watershed Development Programmes are being implemented by the Department of Land Resources under the Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC- PMKSY). The programme promotes integrated development of rainfed and degraded lands through soil and moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, drainage line treatment, afforestation and other watershed interventions, thereby contributing to improved water availability and sustainability of natural resources in rural areas. As per the Management Information System (MIS) of the Department of Land Resources, about 10.79 lakh hectares of degraded/rainfed land have been treated, over 1.22 lakh water harvesting structures have been created/rejuvenated, about 3.20 lakh hectares have been covered under soil and moisture conservation measures, about 3.06 lakh hectares have been brought under protective irrigation and about 24 lakh farmers have benefited under the programme. (f) Water being a State subject, planning, funding and implementation of water conservation and groundwater recharge works are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments through their own resources and under various Central and State schemes. Under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB–G RAM G], water-related works have been accorded the highest priority, with expenditure on such works to be prioritised at not less than 65 per cent in Over-exploited and Critical blocks, 40 per cent in Semi-Critical blocks and 30 per cent in Safe blocks. Further, under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)–Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP), financial assistance has been provided to the States for implementation of the Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies components, with Central Assistance amounting to Rs. 993.87 crore released during 2025-26. *** 3ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 698 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 23.07.2026 REGARDING “ASSESSMENT OF EXTENT OF WATER SCARCITY”. State-wise Depth to Water Level Distribution of Percentage of Observation Wells Post-Monsoon 2025 No of No./Percentage of wells showing depth to water level (mbgl) in the Sr. State/UT well range of No. Name anal 0 to 2 2 to 5 5 to 10 10 to 20 20 to 40 > 40 ysed No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Andaman & Nicobar 1 109 102 93.6 7 6.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 Islands 2 Andhra Pradesh 801 463 57.8 219 27.3 78 9.7 25 3.1 11 1.4 5 0.6 3 Arunachal Pradesh 28 11 39.3 13 46.4 3 10.7 1 3.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 Assam 413 203 49.2 172 41.6 29 7.0 7 1.7 2 0.5 0 0.0 5 Bihar 874 216 24.7 554 63.4 103 11.8 1 0.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 6 Chandigarh 12 0 0.0 3 25.0 2 16.7 2 16.7 3 25.0 2 16.7 7 Chhattisgarh 934 240 25.7 558 59.7 122 13.1 12 1.3 2 0.2 0 0.0 8 Delhi 120 18 15.0 31 25.8 41 34.2 17 14.2 12 10.0 1 0.8 9 Goa 72 26 36.1 26 36.1 16 22.2 4 5.6 0 0.0 0 0.0 10 Gujarat 997 207 20.8 461 46.2 223 22.4 77 7.7 26 2.6 3 0.3 11 Haryana 350 54 15.4 66 18.9 49 14.0 76 21.7 64 18.3 41 11.7 12 Himachal Pradesh 169 40 23.7 61 36.1 30 17.8 17 10.1 15 8.9 6 3.6 13 Jammu & Kashmir 345 96 27.8 139 40.3 54 15.7 31 9.0 17 4.9 8 2.3 14 Jharkhand 493 96 19.5 319 64.7 76 15.4 2 0.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 15 Karnataka 1168 369 31.6 427 36.6 326 27.9 45 3.9 1 0.1 0 0.0 16 Kerala 1466 316 21.6 503 34.3 531 36.2 104 7.1 11 0.8 1 0.1 17 Madhya Pradesh 1451 351 24.2 734 50.6 313 21.6 52 3.6 1 0.1 0 0.0 18 Maharashtra 2303 744 32.3 1079 46.9 396 17.2 70 3.0 12 0.5 2 0.1 19 Manipur 4 2 50.0 2 50.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 20 Meghalaya 72 33 45.8 37 51.4 2 2.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 21 Mizoram 9 7 77.8 2 22.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 22 Nagaland 91 38 41.8 31 34.1 22 24.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 23 Odisha 1330 577 43.4 672 50.5 80 6.0 1 0.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 24 Puducherry 9 4 44.4 4 44.4 1 11.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 25 Punjab 267 29 10.9 51 19.1 36 13.5 65 24.3 62 23.2 24 9.0 26 Rajasthan 1180 256 21.7 195 16.5 128 10.8 138 11.7 200 16.9 263 22.3 27 Sikkim 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 28 Tamil Nadu 921 290 31.5 361 39.2 203 22.0 59 6.4 7 0.8 1 0.1 29 Telangana 539 203 37.7 238 44.2 79 14.7 16 3.0 2 0.4 1 0.2 The Dadra And Nagar 30 Haveli And Daman 41 7 17.1 30 73.2 4 9.8 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 And Diu 31 Tripura 101 33 32.7 57 56.4 11 10.9 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 32 Uttar Pradesh 1103 278 25.2 465 42.2 217 19.7 117 10.6 25 2.3 1 0.1 33 Uttarakhand 191 16 8.4 44 23.0 51 26.7 29 15.2 33 17.3 18 9.4 West 34 719 323 44.9 329 45.8 51 7.1 15 2.1 1 0.1 0 0.0 Bengal Total 18683 5648 30.2 7890 42.2 3277 17.5 984 5.3 507 2.7 377 2.0 mbgl -Metres below ground level CGWB did not have groundwater monitoring stations in Ladakh and Lakshadweep during the above period ***** 4