Parliament Question: Groundwater Depletion, Water Conservation and Sustainable Water Management

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3103 ANSWERED ON 06.08.2026 GROUNDWATER DEPLETION, WATER CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT 3103. Dr. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN: Shri ZIA UR REHMAN: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has assessed/identified the extent of groundwater depletion and drinking water scarcity in various parts/districts of the country during the last five years and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of over-exploited, critical and semi-critical groundwater blocks identified by the Government, State-wise; (c) whether the Government has evaluated the effectiveness of ongoing groundwater recharge, watershed development and water conservation programmes being implemented across the country including Sambhal district and if so, the details thereof; (d) the measures being taken under various schemes to promote sustainable water management, groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting, demand-side water conservation and drinking water improvement programme; (e) whether any special groundwater recharge, watershed development and water conservation projects have been sanctioned for Karnataka, particularly for the water-stressed areas of Davanagere district and if so, the details thereof; and (f) whether Sambhal district has been included under any groundwater recharge or drinking water improvement programme and if so, the details thereof? 1ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), jointly with the concerned State Governments/UT Administrations, carries out the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment annually to estimate groundwater recharge, annual extractable groundwater resources, groundwater extraction and the Stage of Ground Water Extraction at the assessment-unit level. During the last five years, such assessments have been carried out for the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The State/UT-wise and district-wise details are available in the respective Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment reports published by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), which are accessible at the following links: • Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2022: https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/16862159959508359 34file.pdf • Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2023: https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/17056512151889452 705file.pdf • Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2024: https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/17387543101433268 167file.pdf • Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025: https://cgwb.gov.in/GWRA/GWRA_2025.pdf Further, Drinking water being a State subject, planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes are primarily the responsibility of the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. The Government of India supplements their efforts through the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), under which as on date tap water connections have been provided to 215.90 crore rural households, covering about 82.18 per cent of rural households in the country. (b) As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, out of a total of 6,762 assessment units (Blocks/Mandals/Taluks) in the country, 730 have been categorized as Over-exploited, 201 as Critical and 758 as Semi- Critical. The remaining assessment units comprise 4,946 Safe and 127 Saline units. The State/UT-wise details of Over-exploited, Critical and Semi-Critical assessment units are available in the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, which may be accessed at: https://cgwb.gov.in/GWRA/GWRA_2025.pdf (c) The effectiveness of groundwater recharge, watershed development and water conservation measures is reflected, inter alia, through changes in groundwater recharge and categorisation of assessment units under the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment carried out jointly by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and the concerned State Governments/UT Administrations. A comparison of the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessments of 2017 and 2025 indicates that the Total Annual Ground Water Recharge increased from 431.86 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) to 448.52 BCM, registering an increase of 16.66 BCM. During the same period, the proportion of assessment units categorized as Safe increased from 62.6 per cent to 73.14 per cent, while the proportion of Over-exploited assessment units declined from 17.2 per cent to 10.80 per cent. These trends indicate an overall improvement in groundwater availability and a reduction in groundwater stress in several parts of the country. In respect of Sambhal district, Uttar Pradesh, a comparison of the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessments of 2017 and 2025 indicates that the total Annual Ground Water Recharge increased from 44,453 hectare metres (ham) to 47,945 ham, registering an increase of about 3,492 ham. Further, out of 3the eight assessment units in the district, the number of Over-exploited assessment units declined from three in 2017 to nil in 2025, while the number of critical assessment units reduced from three to two. These improvements indicate the positive impact of groundwater recharge, watershed development and water conservation measures in the Sambhal district. (d) to (f) Water being a State subject, sustainable development, conservation and management of water resources including groundwater recharge, watershed development and drinking water supply are primarily the responsibility of the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. However, the Central Government supplements the efforts of the States/UT through technical guidance, policy support and financial assistance under various schemes and programmes. The major initiatives taken for sustainable water management, groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting, water conservation and drinking water improvement including in the States of Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are as follows: i. Efforts for augmenting groundwater resources are primarily channeled through the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), an annual mission-mode campaign for water conservation and artificial recharge. As per available information, more than 2 crore water conservation and artificial recharge works have been undertaken across the country through convergence, including 17.95 lakh works in Karnataka (20,490 in Davanagere district) and 20.44 lakh works in Uttar Pradesh (22,019 in Sambhal district). ii. To further strengthen the momentum of JSA, the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative was launched in 2024 with the objective to make rainwater harvesting a people's movement. More than 1.55 crore artificial groundwater recharge and water-storage works have been constructed across the country including 4.76 lakh works in Karnataka 4(2,599 in Davanagere district) and 2.72 lakh works in Uttar Pradesh (1,500 in Sambhal district). Subsequently, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari– Catch the Rain (JSJB-CTR) was launched on 1st June 2026 to further promote rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge. iii. The Ministry of Jal Shakti has successfully demonstrated community-led participatory groundwater management through the Atal Bhujal Yojana, implemented in 8,203 water-stressed Gram Panchayats across 80 districts in seven States, including Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Under the scheme, rainwater harvesting structures, recharge structures, demand-side management measures and promotion of micro-irrigation have been undertaken through convergence and performance-based incentive funding. iv. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched in 2022 to develop and rejuvenate at least 75 water bodies in every district of the country. Nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been developed/rejuvenated, including 16,632 in Uttar Pradesh (132 in Sambhal district) and 4,054 in Karnataka (125 in Davanagere district), contributing to enhanced water storage and groundwater recharge. v. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is implementing the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 across all Urban Local Bodies with a focus on water security, including rejuvenation of water bodies and development of green spaces that contribute to groundwater recharge. Under AMRUT/AMRUT 2.0, States/UTs have taken up 2,960 water-body rejuvenation projects covering about 1.21 lakh acres and 4,171 parks and green-space projects covering about 18,168 acres. In addition, the Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) initiative has been launched for scientific management of shallow urban aquifers. 5vi. Under the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), water security through water-related works has been accorded priority, particularly in water-stressed areas. Under the planning framework, expenditure on water-related works may be prioritized with indicative thresholds of at least 65 per cent in Over- exploited and Critical blocks, 40 per cent in Semi-Critical blocks and 30 per cent in Safe blocks. vii. The Department of Land Resources is implementing the Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY), which 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. The programme aims to improve water availability, enhance groundwater recharge and strengthen the sustainability of natural resources in rural areas, including water- stressed regions. viii. The Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) in 2015-16 to improve physical access to irrigation, enhance on-farm water-use efficiency and promote sustainable water conservation practices. Under the Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP) component of PMKSY, Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies schemes support restoration of traditional water bodies, construction of minor irrigation works and enhancement of groundwater recharge. In addition, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare is implementing the Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component to improve farm-level water-use efficiency through micro-irrigation and scientific on-farm water management. 6ix. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has completed aquifer mapping under the National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM 1.0), covering about 25 lakh sq. km of the identified mappable area of the country, including about 1,91,719 sq. km in Karnataka (including Davanagere district) and about 2,40,649 sq. km in Uttar Pradesh (including Sambhal district). The aquifer maps and groundwater management plans prepared under the programme have been shared with the respective State Governments to facilitate groundwater recharge, sustainable groundwater development and scientific water- resource planning. Building upon this, NAQUIM 2.0 focuses on detailed aquifer mapping and management studies in priority areas, including water-stressed regions and groundwater quality-affected areas, to support scientific and sustainable groundwater management. x. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is being implemented in partnership with the States/UTs to provide every rural household with potable tap water of prescribed quality, in adequate quantity and on a regular and long-term basis. Under the Mission, priority is accorded to water-quality-affected and water-scarce areas, while ensuring long-term source sustainability through rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and rejuvenation of water bodies. As on date, tap water connections have been provided to 15.90 crore rural households, covering about 82.18 per cent of rural households in the country, including 2,45,87,371 households (92.02%) in Uttar Pradesh, of which 3,07,819 households (94.06%) are in Sambhal district, and 89,80,626 households (88.72%) in Karnataka, of which 2,35,178 households (90.62%) are in Davanagere district. ***** 7