**Executive Summary**
This document is a response to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha regarding the inclusion of Dakshina Kannada under the Atal Bhujal Yojana, answered on December 18, 2025. It clarifies the scope and status of the Atal Bhujal Yojana, and the groundwater situation in Dakshina Kannada. The response includes data up to 2025 and comparative data from previous years.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Atal Bhujal Yojana:**
* Was a pilot scheme for community-led groundwater management.
* Implemented in priority water-stressed areas in select states, including Karnataka.
* In Karnataka, was implemented in 1199 Gram Panchayats across 41 Over Exploited Taluks in 14 districts
* Did not include Dakshina Kannada.
* Tenure of the scheme has ended.
* **Groundwater Assessment (Dakshina Kannada):**
* Dynamic Ground Water Resources are assessed annually by CGWB and State Governments.
* As per the 2025 assessment, Dakshina Kannada has a total Annual Ground Water Recharge of 73,327 hectare meter (ham) and an Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource of 65,995 ham.
* Annual Ground Water Extraction for 2025 is estimated at 30,166 ham.
* The Stage of Ground Water Extraction is 45.71%, placing the district in the "Safe" category.
* All 9 assessment units (Taluks) in Dakshina Kannada are categorized as "Safe."
* Despite this, some areas may experience seasonal water stress.
* **Groundwater Levels:**
* CGWB monitors groundwater levels four times per year through its network of monitoring stations.
* Post-monsoon 2024 data indicates approximately 95% of analyzed wells have water levels between 0 to 10 meters below ground level.
* Comparison of groundwater levels in November 2024 with the mean of the previous five years shows that about 86% of monitored wells have registered a rise in groundwater level.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)**
* **Impact:** CGWB jointly assesses Dynamic Ground Water Resources annually with State Governments and monitors ground water levels quarterly.
* **Action Required:** Continue monitoring groundwater levels in Dakshina Kannada four times per year and conduct annual assessments.
**Stakeholder: State Government of Karnataka**
* **Impact:** Collaborates with CGWB on annual groundwater resource assessments.
* **Action Required:** Continue working with CGWB to assess groundwater resources and monitor conditions.
**Stakeholder: Residents of Dakshina Kannada**
* **Impact:** Informed about the groundwater status of the district and that the Dakshina Kannada was not included in the Atal Bhujal Yojana.
* **Action Required:** No direct action required, but should be aware of local water conditions.
Key Entities Referenced
Atal Bhujal Yojana: A pilot scheme for community-led participatory groundwater management, implemented in water-stressed areas. This scheme's tenure has ended.
Ministry of Jal Shakti: The ministry responsible for the question and answer regarding the inclusion of Dakshina Kannada under the Atal Bhujal Yojana.
Dakshina Kannada: A district in Karnataka, which was the subject of a question in Lok Sabha regarding its inclusion under the Atal Bhujal Yojana.
Karnataka: The state to which Dakshina Kannada belongs, whose government made a proposal regarding the inclusion of Dakshina Kannada under the Atal Bhujal Yojana.
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB): The organization, along with State Governments, assesses the Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country, including Karnataka, annually.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3185
ANSWERED ON 18.12.2025
INCLUSION OF DAKSHINA KANNADA UNDER ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA
3185. SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA:
Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has received any proposal or recommendation from the State Government of
Karnataka to include Dakshina Kannada district under the Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal);
(b) if so, the details thereof including the taluks or Gram Panchayats proposed to be covered and if not, the
reasons therefor;
(c) whether the Government has conducted any recent survey or study to identify the causes of water scarcity
or depletion of drinking water sources in Mangalore and other parts of Dakshina Kannada district;
(d) if so, the details and key findings thereof; and
(e) the present status of groundwater levels in each Gram Panchayat of Dakshina Kannada district along with
comparative data on changes observed from 2020-21 to 2024-25?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)
(a) & (b) Atal Bhujal Yojana was a pilot scheme for community led participatory groundwater management,
implemented in priority water stressed areas across 8,203 priority water stressed Gram Panchayats of 229
blocks in 80 districts of seven states viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
In Karnataka, this scheme was implemented in 1199 Gram Panchayats across 41 Over Exploited
Taluks in 14 districts, which did not include Dakshina Kannada. The scheme demonstrably
improved groundwater management in the implemented area and provided a scalable template. However, it is
to add that Atal Bhujal Yojana was conceived as a pilot scheme with a fixed duration & outlay and
the Scheme’s tenure has ended now.
(c) & (d) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country, including for the state of Karnataka, are being
assessed annually, jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the
latest assessment of 2025, for the district of Dakshina Kannada, whose main city is Mangalore, the total
Annual Ground Water Recharge is 73,327 hectare meter (ham) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water
Resource is 65,995 ham. The total Annual Ground Water Extraction of the entire district for the year 2025
1has been estimated as 30,166 ham and the Stage of Ground Water Extraction (SoE), which is a measure of
Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses (irrigation, industrial and domestic uses) over Annual
Extractable Ground Water Resource, is arrived at 45.71 % for the district as a whole, placing it in the ‘Safe’
category.
Also, all the 9 assessment units (Taluks) within the district of Dakshina Kannada, have been
categorized as “Safe”.
However, despite favourable assessment figures, some pockets may be experiencing seasonal ground
water stress due to various factors like high population density, rapid urbanization and industrialization,
climate change etc.
(e) CGWB monitors groundwater levels throughout the country including Dakshina Kannada district of
Karnataka state, four times in every year, through its network of monitoring stations and not the GP
wise. The block-wise ground water level data measured during Post monsoon 2024 for Dakshina
Kannada district is given in Annexure-I, which indicates that approximately 95% of the analyzed wells have
water levels ranging between 0 to 10 meters below ground level (mbgl), indicating ease of access to ground
water.
Further, in order to assess the long-term fluctuation in ground water levels, groundwater level data
of Post Monsoon November 2024 has been compared with the mean water level data of previous five
years, i.e. from November 2020-2024, as presented in Annexure II. Analysis of this data indicates that about
86% of the well monitored have registered rise in groundwater level in 2024 as compared to the mean of
previous 5 years.
***
2ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER
3185 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.12.2025 REGARDING “INCLUSION OF
DAKSHINA KANNADA UNDER ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA”.
Block-wise Depth to Water Level Distribution of Percentage of Observation Wells Post-Monsoon 2024
(Unconfined Aquifer) of Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka
Number/Percentage of wells showing depth to water level
Number of
Sr. (mbgl) in the range of
Block Name well
No. 0 to 2 2 to 5 5 to 10 10 to 20 20 to 40 > 40
analysed
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
1 Bantval 16 0 0.0 10 62.5 6 37.5 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
2 Beltangadi 16 1 6.3 6 37.5 9 56.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
3 Kadaba 15 4 26.7 5 33.3 6 40.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
4 Mangluru/Manglore 27 4 14.8 7 25.9 12 44.4 4 14.8 0 0.0 0 0.0
5 Mudubidare 4 1 25.0 0 0.0 3 75.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
6 Puttur 5 0 0.0 1 20.0 4 80.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
7 Sulya 8 2 25.0 2 25.0 3 37.5 1 12.5 0 0.0 0 0.0
Total 91 12 13.2 31 34.1 43 47.3 5 5.4 0 0.0 0 0.0
3ANNEXURE-II
ANNEXURE-II REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER
3185 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.12.2025 REGARDING “INCLUSION OF
DAKSHINA KANNADA UNDER ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA”.
Block-wise Water Level Fluctuation (in meters) with Mean (Post-Monsoon 2020 to 2023) and Post-
Monsoon 2024 (Unconfined Aquifer) of Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka
Number/Percentage of wells showing fluctuation to water level (m) in
the range of
Number
Sr. Block Rise Fall
of wells
No. Name Cumu Cumu Cumu Cumu
analysed 2 to >
0 to 2 2 to 4 > 4 lative lative rise 0 to 2 lative Lative fall
4 4
Rise % Fall %
1 Bantval 16 14 87.5 0 0 0 0 14 87.50% 2 12.5 0 0 0 0 2 12.50%
2 Beltangadi 14 12 85.7 1 7.1 0 0 13 92.86% 0 0 1 7.1 0 0 1 7.14%
3 Kadaba 15 10 66.7 2 13.3 1 6.7 13 86.67% 2 13.3 0 0 0 0 2 13.33%
4 Mangaluru 26 19 73.1 0 0 1 3.8 20 76.92% 6 23.1 0 0 0 0 6 23.08%
5 Mudubidare 3 3 100 0 0 0 0 3 100.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00%
6 Puttur 5 4 80 0 0 0 0 4 80.00% 1 20 0 0 0 0 1 20.00%
7 Sulya 8 8 100 0 0 0 0 8 100.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00%
Total 87 70 80.5 3 3.4 2 2.3 75 86.21% 11 12.6 1 1.1 0 0 12 13.79%
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