Parliament Question: Groundwater Rejuvenation in Chevella

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6383 ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026 GROUNDWATER REJUVENATION IN CHEVELLA 6383. SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of studies warning of a “zero day” water crisis in Telangana by 2034 along with groundwater utilization touching sixty-five per cent and Vikarabad in Chevella Constituency recording depletion levels exceeding 16.60 metres below ground level; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the financial and technical interventions prioritised for Chevella Constituency under the Atal Bhujal Yojana to rejuvenate aquifers and mitigate fluoride contamination in affected rural habitations; (c) the reasons for the Central Water Commission (CWC) withholding techno-economic clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) which is critical for drought-proofing the upland agricultural communities of Chevella; and (d) whether the Government proposes to formulate a fast-track appraisal mechanism to resolve inter-State Krishna basin water disputes thereby expediting PRLIS approvals and ensuring water security for the periphery of Hyderabad and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment of the country is carried out annually by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in coordination with State Governments. As per the latest assessment for 2025, the total Annual Ground Water Recharge in Telangana is 21.93 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 19.84 BCM. The Total Annual Ground Water Extraction of the entire state for the year 2025 has been estimated as 9.26 BCM. Accordingly, the Stage of Ground Water Extraction (SoE), defined as the ratio of Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses to Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource, is worked out to be 46.69 % for the state as a whole. In Chevella Lok Sabha Constituency, comprising of Vikarabad and Ranga Reddy districts, the stage of ground water extraction is assessed as 60.66% and 66.59%, respectively, indicating that both districts fall under the ‘Safe’ category as a whole. Further, as per the ground water level data measured by CGWB during its post monsoon round of monitoring during November/December 2025, in Vikarabad district, all the 39 wells monitored (100%) have recorded groundwater levels within 0-10 metres below ground level (mbgl) and in Ranga Reddy district, 29 out of 31 wells monitored (93.5%) were within 0-10 mbgl range. 1(b) ‘Water’ is a State subject and the responsibility of ground water management, including taking initiatives for improving ground resources and mitigating contamination issues, lies primarily with the State Governments. However, the Central Government facilitates the efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial assistance through its various schemes and projects. In this direction, several important steps have been taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other Central Ministries for sustainable management and improvement of ground water resources of the country, including in Chevella Lok Sabha constituency of Telangana. Gist of various such initiatives is given below:- i. Efforts of the Government for augmenting the water/groundwater resources of the country are mainly channeled through the flagship campaign of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA), an annual mission mode programme for taking up water harvesting and artificial recharge activities. As per the available information, under JSA more than 2 Cr water conservation and artificial recharge works have been taken up through convergence in the country so far, with around 3.02 lakh works in Telangana, including 19,366 works in Vikarabad and 5,522 works in Ranga Reddy Districts, which have played a key role in enhancing the sustainability of ground water resources. ii. To further strengthen the momentum of JSA, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative has been launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2024 with a vision to make rain water harvesting a mass movement in the country. By promoting community ownership and responsibility, the initiative seeks to develop cost-effective, local solutions tailored to specific water challenges across different regions. So far, more than 50 lakh rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures have been constructed across the country under this initiative, with around 7.11 lakh such structures in Telangana, including 5,399 in Vikarabad and 1,739 in Ranga Reddy districts. iii. To further boost the water conservation works in the country, under the ‘National Initiative on Water Security’, it has been decided to spend at least 65% of MGNREGS funds on water conservation works in Over-Exploited (OE) and Critical Blocks of the country and 40% in Semi-critical Blocks and 30% in Safe Blocks and the scheme provisions have been amended to that effect. iv. Mission Amrit Sarovar was also launched by the Government of India, which aimed at developing and rejuvenating at least 75 water bodies in each district of the country, for the purpose of increasing water storage and boosting ground water recharge. As an outcome nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/rejuvenated in the country, with 1,872 sarovars in Telangana, including 75 in Vikarabad and 23 in Ranga Reddy districts. v. Central Ground Water Board under its National Aquifer Mapping & Management (NAQUIM) Programme, has covered the entire mappable area of 25 lakh sq. kms of the 2country and district level aquifer maps along with appropriate aquifer management plans, containing recommendations for various recharge structures, have been shared with all State and District administrations, including for Telangana, for taking further field implementation. Subsequent to this CGWB has initiated NAQUIM 2.0, wherein state of the art technologies are being used for generation of aquifer information of high granularity and preparation of village/Block level management plans. vi. For mitigation of Fluoride contamination and with an objective to provide safe drinking water to every rural household of the country, the Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal Scheme. As on date 15.82 Cr rural households of the country have been provided with functional tap connection under the Scheme as compared to 3.23 Cr at the time of Scheme commencement in August 2019. Following measures have been taken under JJM to facilitate action on water quality aspects at state level :-  Under the JJM, Bureau of Indian Standards’ BIS:10500 standards have been adopted as prescribed norms for quality of tap water service delivery.  While allocating the funds to States/ UTs, 10% weightage is given to the population residing in habitations affected by chemical contaminants.  Around 2870 water quality testing laboratories have been set up in the country. Besides this, five persons, preferably women are identified and trained from every village for testing the water samples through Field Test Kits (FTKs).  States/ UTs have also been advised to install community water purification plants (CWPPs) as an interim measure, especially in quality affected habitations, to provide potable drinking water to every household. As per the data available on JJM dashboard, from August 2019 to March 2026, an amount of Rs.188.23 Cr has been released as Central Share to State of Telangana and the total expenditure is Rs. 467.86 Cr. vii. Atal Bhujal Yojana was a pilot project with a fixed duration and outlay implemented across 8,203 water stressed Gram Panchayats across 7 States. The Scheme was not implemented in Telangana. (c) & (d) The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) has not been taken up for techno-economic appraisal by the Central Water Commission (CWC) as the project involves utilisation of Krishna River waters and the allocation of these waters is presently sub-judice before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT)-II. In view of the ongoing adjudication appraisal of PRLIS including the request for Phase-I clearance cannot be undertaken at this stage. Further, it has been advised that comprehensive and integrated planning for achieving the intended benefits of the entire PRLIS project may be undertaken by the project authorities and a proposal may be submitted for appraisal after the final award of KWDT-II and in conformity with the said award. ***** 34