Parliament Question: Groundwater Availability in Balasore, Odisha

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 692 ANSWERED ON 23.07.2026 GROUNDWATER AVAILABILITY IN BALASORE, ODISHA

692. Shri PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that Balasore district in Odisha has been grappling with depletion of groundwater resources;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the details of groundwater availability and its utilisation in Balasore district from the Financial Year 2014–15 to 2025–26, year-wise;

(c) the measures undertaken by the Government to regulate and monitor groundwater extraction and recharge in Balasore district;

(d) the details of funds apportioned and expended for this purpose during the above-said period;

(e) whether any accomplishments have been attained in improving the groundwater level and quality in the said district; and

(f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) & (b) Dynamic Groundwater Resources of the country including Balasore district of Odisha, are assessed jointly by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and the State Governments. The assessment provides updated estimates of annual groundwater recharge, extractable groundwater resources, groundwater extraction and stage of groundwater extraction along with categorization of assessment units as Safe, Semi- Critical, Critical and Over-Exploited.

As per the Dynamic Groundwater Resources Assessment, 2025, the total Annual Groundwater Recharge of Balasore district has been assessed as 143080 Hectare Metres (HAM), the Annual Extractable Groundwater Resource as 132164 HAM and the Annual Groundwater Extraction for all uses as 78812 HAM.

Accordingly, the Stage of Groundwater Extraction has been assessed as 59.63 per cent. Out of the total 12 assessment units (Blocks) in the district, 11 assessment units have been categorized as 'Safe' and one assessment unit as 'Semi-Critical'. Groundwater Resource Assessment was conducted in 2017 and 2020, and annually from 2022 onwards. No assessment was carried out in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. The details are given in the Annexure.

1(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 and financial assistance through its various schemes and programmes. The major steps taken in this direction including those relating to Balasore district are as

under: i. Groundwater conservation and augmentation efforts are being undertaken through the flagship Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), an annual mission-mode campaign for water conservation and artificial recharge. More than 2 crore water conservation and artificial recharge works have been taken up across the country through convergence including 12,027 works in Balasore district.

ii. To further strengthen these efforts, the Hon'ble Prime Minister launched the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative in 2024 to make rainwater harvesting a mass movement through community participation. More than 1.55 crore artificial groundwater recharge and water storage works have been created across the country including 19,221 works in Balasore district under the initiative. Subsequently, the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari–Catch the Rain (JSJB-CTR) campaign was launched nationwide on 1st June, 2026 to further promote water conservation and artificial recharge.

iii. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India with the objective of developing and rejuvenating at least 75 water bodies in each district of the country. As an outcome, nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated across the country including 80 water bodies in Balasore district, contributing to enhance water storage and groundwater recharge.VB-G RAM G (Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin) (earlier MGNREGS) works related to water conservation and water harvesting including large scale desiltation projects for water bodies, rejuvenation of river stretches etc have been carried out by various State Governments. Under VB-G RAM G 65% of the funds has been allocated for water conservation related works in Over- exploited and Critical rural blocks.

iv. Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) has completed aquifer mapping under the National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM 1.0) covering about 3,806 sq. km of Balasore district. Aquifer maps and groundwater management plans have been prepared and shared with the Government of Odisha for scientific planning and sustainable groundwater management.

v. Under NAQUIM 2.0, CGWB has undertaken detailed scientific studies in Balasore district. Based on these studies, suitable groundwater management measures including recharge wells, farm ponds with injection wells, rooftop rainwater harvesting, check weirs, gabion structures and increased use of surface water to reduce dependence on groundwater, have been recommended based on local hydrogeological conditions.

vi. Groundwater extraction is regulated by the Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) through the Guidelines notified by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the Odisha including Balasore district.

2vii. The Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare has been implementing the Per Drop More Crop

(PDMC) component to promote micro-irrigation and improve on-farm water-use efficiency, thereby reducing groundwater extraction and encouraging sustainable use of groundwater resources including in Odisha.

viii. CGWB carries out groundwater exploration, monitoring, assessment and management activities under the Groundwater Management and Regulation (GWM&R) Scheme, a Central Sector Scheme.

Since the activities are implemented directly by CGWB, funds are not allocated district-wise.

Accordingly, no separate allocation or expenditure is maintained for Balasore district.

(e) & (f) The Dynamic Groundwater Resources Assessments indicate that the total Annual Groundwater Recharge in Balasore district has increased from 120271 HAM in 2017 to 143080 HAM in 2025 which is nearly 19% more groundwater recharge. The district has also continued to remain in the 'Safe' category, indicating a stable groundwater resource scenario.

CGWB undertakes regional-scale groundwater quality monitoring in accordance with the approved Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Analysis of groundwater samples collected from selected monitoring locations (6 nos.) in Balasore district during the pre-monsoon period of 2022, 2023 and 2024 indicates that groundwater quality was generally within the prescribed limits for drinking purposes with respect to the parameters analysed .

*** 3ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 692 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 23.07.2026 REGARDING “GROUNDWATER AVAILABILITY IN BALASORE, ODISHA”.

Groundwater Resources of Balasore District, Odisha (Assessment Years 2017, 2020 and 2022–2025) Annual Total Total Annual Stage of S. Assessment Extractable Groundwater Groundwater Groundwater No. Year Groundwater Extraction Recharge (Ham) Extraction (%) Resources (Ham) (Ham) 1 2017 120271.41 111581.03 67289.64 60.31 2 2020 131300.90 121284.03 68593.27 56.56 3 2022 141962.56 130327.03 72808.89 55.87 4 2023 140698.06 129141.74 74987.07 58.07 5 2024 142210.56 130843.74 77286.75 59.07 6 2025 143080.02 132164.16 78812.27 59.63 *Ham-Hectare meter ***** 4