Parliament Question: Groundwater depletion and aquifer management

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1056 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026 GROUNDWATER DEPLETION AND AQUIFER MANAGEMENT 1056 SHRI NARAYANA KORAGAPPA: SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI: SHRI BRIJ LAL: Smt. KIRAN CHOUDHRY: Dr. MEDHA VISHRAM KULKARNI: SHRI SUBHASH BARALA: SHRI MASTHAN RAO YADAV BEEDHA: SHRI LAHAR SINGH SIROYA: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) whether recent assessments indicate further depletion of groundwater levels in critical blocks; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the manner in which the Atal Bhujal Yojana has progressed in participating States during the last three years; (d) the data-driven tools that are being used for aquifer mapping and monitoring; and (e) the corrective measures planned for over-exploited aquifers? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b) The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under this Ministry monitors groundwater levels throughout the country at regular prescribed intervals. The perusal of data from the monitoring conducted during November 2025 (post monsoon 2025) indicates that about 72.55% of the monitored wells located in Critical and Over-Exploited assessment units across the country have recorded rise in ground water levels on comparison with decadal mean water levels (from November 2014 to November 2023). (c) Atal Bhujal Yojana was one of its kind pilot scheme for community led participatory management of ground water implemented in 8,203 water stressed Gram Panchayats (GPs) across 7 States viz. Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Karnataka. During its tenure, community led Water Budgeting and preparation of Water Security Plans (WSPs) was done and annually updated for all participating GPs. Further, around 83,000 artificial recharge and water conservation structures were constructed and more than 9 lakh hectares of land was brought under efficient irrigation practices, leading to ground water level improvement in 180 out of 229 Blocks in the scheme implementation area. 1(d) On the technological front, the government is employing a range of state of the art digital and technological tools for all round mapping, monitoring and planning in ground water sector across the country. Some of the prominent ones that can be cited are, use of high end Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for aquifer mapping under NAQUIM programme of CGWB, High resolution heli-borne surveys, creation of a nation-wide network of Digital Water Level Recorders (DWLRs) with telemetry for real time ground water data generation and sharing, creation of web-based INGRESS platform for ground water resource assessment, collaborations with apex technological agencies like (BISAG -N) and Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad for generating detailed aquifer maps and identifying recharge zones etc. (e) ‘Water’ being a State subject, sustainable development and management of water including groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. The Central Government, on its part, facilitates the efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial assistance through its various schemes and projects. The major steps taken in this direction, with a focus on Over-exploited, Critical and Semi-critical (OCS) areas of the country are provided below: i. This Ministry is annually conducting the campaign of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA): Catch The Rain (JSA : CTR) for taking up water conservation and artificial recharge activities across the country in mission mode. The JSA campaign, since its inception, has focused on OCS areas of the country for prioritizing its efforts. Currently, JSA 2025 is underway in the country with special focus on over- exploited and critical districts. Further, under this campaign, completion/rejuvenation of water conservation and artificial recharge works have been coordinated through convergence with MGNREGA in the country. Additionally, under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) mass campaign has been taken up for scaling up ground water recharge and rain water harvesting structures. ii. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India which aimed at developing and rejuvenating water bodies in each district of the country. As an outcome nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated in the country leading to enhanced water storage and ground water recharge. iii. After the successful completion of NAQUIM 1.0, under which aquifers were mapped for the entire 25 lakh sq. kms mappable area of the country, providing a macro-level understanding of our nation's groundwater resources, the Central Ground Water Board has now embarked upon NAQUIM 2.0. Under this phase 2.0, over-exploited and critical areas are being given special attention for generating aquifer data of high granularity and appropriate management plans. iv. With an objective to ensure sustainability of water resources in urban areas, M/o Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), GoI, has been implementing AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0 Schemes, which are major initiatives to improve the quality of life in cities, enabling them to become 'self-reliant' and 'water secure'. Rejuvenation of urban water bodies is an important thrust area under the scheme. v. Under Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) of MoHUA, priority cities have been selected for addressing groundwater depletion and water logging, by taking up over 35 pilot recharge structures in 6 cities in various parts of the country. ***** 2