Parliament Question: Groundwater Replenishment in Bihar and Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 719 ANSWERED ON 04.12.2025 GROUNDWATER REPLENISHMENT IN BIHAR AND MAHARASHTRA 719. MS. PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE: SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL: ADV GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI: SHRI MANOJ KUMAR: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government proposes to implement any rainwater harvesting and groundwater restoration plans for the drought and flood prone areas of Bihar and Maharashtra, particularly Nandurbar, Solapur and Sangli; (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (c) the details of the timelines, allocation reports and current status (completed, ongoing, delayed etc.) for implementation of the Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater–2020 prepared by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB); and (d) the extent to which the Atal Bhujal Yojana has been integrated with the goals of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan including the percentage expenditure on community-led groundwater replenishment projects and the details of independent impact evaluations conducted for Bihar and Maharashtra? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b) Water being a State subject, sustainable development and management of water and groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of 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. The major steps taken by the Government in this direction, including in the states of Bihar and Maharashtra, are provided below: i. Efforts of the Central government for augmenting the water/groundwater resources of the country, are mainly channeled through the flagship campaign of Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA). JSA is a time bound and mission mode programme being conducted annually since 2019 by the M/o Jal Shakti, wherein all the efforts and funds under various schemes and projects are converged to deliver water harvesting and artificial recharge works on the ground. Currently, JSA 2025 is underway in the country with special focus on over-exploited 1and critical districts. As per the available information, under JSA, completion of around 1.21 cr lakh water conservation and artificial recharge works has been coordinated through convergence in the country in the last 4 years, with around 4.65 lakh structures in Bihar and 1.84 lakh structures in Maharashtra (3,395 in Nandurbar, 2,001 in Solapur and 6,232 in Sangli), which have played a key role in enhancing the sustainability of ground water resources in these states. ii. To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: A Community-Driven Path to Water Sustainability in India has been launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister 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. iii. M/o Jal Shakti has successfully demonstrated the efficacy of community led participatory ground water management through Atal Bhujal Yojana, which was implemented in 80 water stressed districts in 7 States, including Maharashtra. Construction of various rain water harvesting and recharge structures like check dams, ponds, shafts etc. as well as promotion of micro irrigation was taken up through convergence and by use of incentive funds under the scheme. 94 Gram Panchayats in 5 blocks of Sangli District and 114 Gram Panchayats in 4 Blocks of Solapur District in the Maharashtra are covered under the Atal Bhujal Yojana. iv. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched by the Government of India which aimed at 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 in the country, with 2,613 in Bihar and 3,055 in Maharashtra (73 in Nandurbar, 139 in Solapur and 76 in Sangli), leading to enhanced water storage and ground water recharge. v. After the successful completion of NAQUIM 1.0, which mapped the country's aquifers and provided a macro-level understanding of our nation's groundwater resources, the Central Ground Water Board has now embarked upon NAQUIM 2.0, focusing on water stressed and quality affected pockets. Under NAQUIM 2.0 state-of-the-art technologies are harnessed, for generating highly detailed, scientific data which serve as an important tool for making informed decisions for sustainable groundwater management. vi. In addition to the above, significant amount of work has been done towards rainwater harvesting and groundwater restoration through the state government schemes of Jal Jeevan Hariyali in Bihar and Jalyukt Shivar in Maharashtra. (c) Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by CGWB in consultation with States/UTs which is a macro level plan indicating various rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures for the different terrain conditions of the country. The plan aims to construct 2approximately 1.42 crore such structures across India, potentially harnessing about 185 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) of rainwater. Here it may be appreciated that the Master plan is only recommendatory in nature and does not involve any kind of binding commitment on the central or the state governments. The purpose of the Master plan is to serve as a technical guidance note only and the extent of its execution will depend upon the administrative and practical requirements prevailing in each state. However, to have a demonstrative effect, states were requested to identify one district in each state for priority implementation of Master plan. Accordingly, Gaya district in Bihar and Nagpur district in Maharashtra were selected and respectively 691 and 1,344 structures were constructed as per Master plan recommendation. (d) Both Atal Bhujal Yojana and Jal Shakti Abhiyan have community led sustainable management of ground water resources as their core theme. Extensive training and capacity building at grassroots level, enhancing community’s role in local water governance through sustained ground level participation, ownership and coordination etc. are some of the core ideas and objectives shared by them. However, whereas Atal Bhujal Yojana was a pilot scheme implemented in priority water stressed Gram Panchayats across 7 States, Jal Shakti Abhiyan is an annual umbrella campaign spearheaded by the Ministry of Jal Shakti wherein water harvesting/conservation and artificial recharge activities are taken up for completion in mission mode through convergence. Furthermore, impact assessment of activities under Atal Bhujal Yojana has already been conducted in all seven participating states, including Maharashtra, through the third-party government verification agency, i.e., the Quality Council of India (QCI). Bihar was not covered under the scheme. It is observed that the scheme has played a major role in enhancing community knowledge on water related issues, prompting behaviour change. Moreover, the extent of people’s participation and gender inclusivity has also been appreciated. On the expenditure side, an amount of Rs.3602.68 cr has been allocated till date for taking up institutional strengthening and incentivizing water conservation activities under Atal Bhujal Yojana. ***** 3