Parliament Question: Scientists in Central Ground Water Board

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3083 ANSWERED ON 18.12.2025 SCIENTISTS IN CENTRAL GROUND WATER BOARD 3083. SHRI UMMEDA RAM BENIWAL: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) the number of scientists currently employed at the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) office in Jaipur, the sanctioned strength and the reasons for existing vacancies; (b) the current status of groundwater resources in Barmer and Rajasthan including levels of depletion, areas identified as critical and measures being implemented to address these challenges; (c) the infrastructure deficiencies faced by CGWB scientists in Jaipur including the availability of vehicles for fieldwork and necessary equipment and the steps being taken to resolve these issues; and (d) whether the Government has undertaken any recent studies or assessments on groundwater contamination in Rajasthan and if so, the key findings thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) At present, 26 Scientific Officers of various disciplines (i.e Hydrogeology/ Geophysics/ Chemical/Hydrometeorology) are posted under CGWB, Western Region, Jaipur. Further, since the year 2019, CGWB has dispensed with the system of allocating office wise strength and officers are posted in different offices of CGWB as per the requirement. (b) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country including for the state of Rajasthan, are being assessed annually, jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. As per the latest assessment of 2025, the total annual ground water recharge for the state of Rajasthan is 12.87 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) and total annual ground water extraction is estimated as 17.10 BCM. Similarly, for Barmer district, the total annual ground water recharge is 0.385 BCM and Extraction is 0.469 BCM. Regarding categorization of units in terms of their stage of ground water extraction, out of the total 302 Assessment Units (Blocks) in Rajasthan, 213 (70.53%) units have been categorized as ‘Over- exploited’ indicating ground water extraction exceeding the annually replenishable ground water recharge and 23 units (7.62 %) have been categorized as ‘Critical’. Further, in Barmer district, 12 units are in Over-exploited and 2 units are in Critical category. Water being a State subject, sustainable development and management of groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. However, the Central Government facilitates the 1efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial assistance through its various schemes and projects. In this direction, several significant steps have already been taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other central ministries for sustainable development of ground water resources in the country, including Rajasthan. Some of the important ones are given 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 and critical districts. As per the available information, under JSA, completion of around 1.21 crore water conservation and artificial recharge works has been coordinated through convergence in the country in the last 4 years, with 6.54 lakh structures in Rajasthan & 1.65 lakh structures in Barmer, which has played a key role in enhancing the sustainability of ground water resources. ii. To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB): 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 Rajasthan. 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 under the scheme with an objective to augment the ground water resources and to reduce the strain on them through efficient water management practices. 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 3,138 in Rajasthan and 97 in Barmer, leading to enhanced water storage and ground water recharge. v. CGWB has also prepared the Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020, for the entire country providing a broad outline for construction of around 1.42 crore rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 BCM (Billion cubic meter). The Master Plan recommends construction of about 7.70 lakhs rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge 2structures for Rajasthan, including Barmer, like Contour bunds, Check Dams, Injection wells, Sub- Surface Dykes etc. vi. CGWB has taken up National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) under Ground Water Management & Regulation (GWM &R) Scheme with an aim to delineate aquifer disposition and their characterization. Entire mappable area of the country of around 25 lakh sq. km, including 3.42 sq. km in Rajasthan, has been mapped under the scheme and district-wise management plans have been shared with the respective State/District administrations for implementation. vii. M/o Jal Shakti is promoting conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater and to reduce over- dependence on groundwater, surface water based Major and Medium irrigation projects have been taken up in the country under PMKSY-AIBP scheme in collaboration with States/UTs. (c) As informed by the CGWB, no infrastructure deficiencies are being faced by CGWB scientists in Jaipur, Rajasthan and the availability of scientific equipment is adequate to carry out field studies. However, the Ministry has taken proactive steps to improve the infrastructure and logistics availability to all the offices of CGWB including that of Jaipur, Rajasthan. (d) Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates ground water quality data of the country, including Rajasthan as part of its ground water quality monitoring program and various scientific studies conducted as per the approved Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Overall, the data on ground water quality indicates that the ground water in Rajasthan remains largely potable with localized occurrences of contaminants in isolated pockets. Findings of the Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2025, regarding localized occurrence of contaminants such as fluoride, iron, salinity, nitrate etc. in Rajasthan are summarized in Annexure. *** 3ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3083 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.12.2025 REGARDING “SCIENTISTS IN CENTRAL GROUND WATER BOARD”. Summary of ground water quality sample analysis in Rajasthan as per the Annual Ground Water Quality report 2025 of CGWB Parameter No. of samples analyzed % of Samples Exceeding Permissible Limits Electrical conductivity (EC)/Salinity 643 47.12 Fluoride (F-) 643 41.06 Nitrate (NO 2-) 643 50.54 3 Iron (Fe) 100 7 Lead (Pb) 98 2.04 ***** 4