Parliament Question: Utilisation of Riverine Water

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 201 ANSWERED ON 29.01.2026 UTILISATION OF RIVERINE WATER †201. SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the quantum of riverine water used for various purposes in the country, particularly in Rajasthan;

(b) the details of the plans/programmes formulated for the optimum utilisation of riverine water;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any survey to assess the updated status of water resources in the country, especially in Churu, Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Nagaur Lok Sabha Constituencies and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government proposes to implement the Yamuna Water Agreement in Rajasthan and if so, the details thereof;

(e) the current status of progress of the said agreement, the expected timeline fixed for its commencement, the areas of Churu district likely to benefit therefrom; and

(f) the total expenditure likely to be incurred and the respective share borne by the Union Government and the State Government of Rajasthan? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) & (b) ‘Water’ being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management and utilization of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

As per National Register of specified Dams 2025 of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), total Gross Storage Capacity of 6628 specified Dams of the country is 330.022 BCM and total Live Storage Capacity of these specified Dams is 265.544 BCM. The State of Rajasthan has 315 specified Dams on various rivers. Total Gross Storage Capacity of these specified Dams of Rajasthan is 12.039 BCM and Live Storage Capacity of these specified Dams is 9.659 BCM. The storage of these specified Dams is used for various purposes.

As per the report of National Commission for Integrated Water Resource Development (NCIWRD-

1999), total water requirement of the country for different uses for high demand scenario for the years 2025 and 2050 has been assessed as 843 BCM and 1180 BCM respectively is given below:

1S.N Uses Year 2025 (for high demand) Year 2050 (for high demand) (in BCM) (in BCM) 1 Surface water 2 Irrigation 366 463 3 Domestic 36 65 4 Industries 47 57 5 Power 26 56 6 Inland Navigation 10 15 7 Environment - 10 20 Ecology 8 Evaporation losses 50 76 Total 545 752 Ground water 1 Irrigation 245 344 2 Domestic 26 46 3 Industries 20 24 4 Power 7 14 Total 298 428 Grand total 843 1180 Government of India formulated National Perspective Plan (NPP) in year, 1980 for Inter-Basin Water Transfer and 30 Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) Projects have been identified under NPP (16 link projects under Peninsular component and 14 link projects under Himalayan component). These link projects have been designed judicially by considering all engineering parameters for optimum utilization of water. National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has been entrusted with work of Interlinking of Rivers (ILR). Out of these 30 link projects, 3 link projects pertain to Rajasthan viz; Yamuna-Rajasthan link project, Rajasthan –Sabarmati link project and Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link project.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched during the year 2015-16, with an aim to enhance physical access of water on farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, introduce sustainable water conservation practices, etc. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) component of PMKSY is mainly for creation of irrigation potential through expeditious completion of major and medium irrigation projects. Command Area Development component deals with on farm irrigation development and participatory irrigation management.

118 priority Projects of the country are included in PMKSY-AIBP from 2016-17 to 2024-25, out of which 70 Projects were completed upto December 2025. Three priority project of Rajasthan State, namely

(i) Modernization of Gang Canal Project, (ii) Narmada Canal project and (iii) Parwan Multipurpose Project are included in PMKSY-AIBP. Further, Five more Projects are also funded through PMKSY-AIBP (i) RenukaJi National Project (ii) Lakhwar National Project (iii) North Koel National Project (iv) Shahpur Kandi Dam National Project (v) Rajasthan Feeder &Sirhind Feeder (Special package ).

Under Jal Jeevan Mission, Government of India assists States by providing financial and technical assistance including Rajasthan to provide functional household tap connection to all rural households.

(c) The average annual water availability of any region or country is largely dependent upon hydro- meteorological and geological factors. As per study titled “Assessment of Water Resources of India- 2024” 2conducted by Central Water Commission, the average annual water resources in river basins of the country has been assessed as about 2116 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM).

Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country are being assessed every year from 2022 jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments. For the assessment year 2025, the assessment has been completed for all the 36 States/ UTs including Churu, Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Nagaur districts of Rajasthan and the National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2025 has been released.

Further, as per the 2025 assessment, the total Annual Ground Water Recharge for the country is

448.52 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 407.75 BCM.

The groundwater resource status (as per Assessment 2025) for the districts falling in/covering Churu, Bikaner, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Nagaur Lok Sabha Constituencies (Rajasthan) is as under:

Constituency Name of Total Annual Annual Annual District Ground Water Extractable Ground Water Recharge Ground Water Extraction

(Ham) Resource (Ham) (Ham) Churu Churu 16810.58 15541.57 20029.38 Hanumangarh 22865.56 20579.01 13448.76 Bikaner Bikaner 31327.94 28195.15 39635.01 Ganganagar 48103.32 43292.97 17478.43 Jhunjhunu (Jhunjhunu and Jhunjhunu 24929.07 22436.15 51052.73 Part of Sikar) & Sikar (Part Sikar 38570.42 34927.43 66832.1 of Sikar and Part of Jaipur Jaipur 78890.77 71377.76 154900.23 Nagaur Nagaur 64740.24 58659.2 109830.72

(d) to (f) A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the basin States, namely Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi regarding the allocation of the surface flow of the River Yamuna upto Okhla on 12.5.1994. In order to implement the said MoU, Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) and Upper Yamuna River Committee (UYRC) were constituted in accordance with the provision of the MoU. After creation of Uttaranchal State in 2000, the resolution was modified to include Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand) in the Board.

UYRB has approved seasonal distributions of flows from various distribution points in its 42nd meeting.

The water is distributed among the basin States in accordance with the distribution made by UYRB.

Further, An MoU was signed by Haryana and Rajasthan for preparation of Detailed Project Report

(DPR) jointly by the Governments of Haryana and Rajasthan for project for transfer of Rajasthan Share of Yamuna water from Hathnikund to Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and other Districts of Rajasthan through underground pipelines.

As per the above MoU, the Phase-1 of the project envisages transfer of water through underground pipelines during July to October upto 577 MCM for drinking water supply and other requirements for Churu, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and other Districts of Rajasthan after utilisation of full capacity (24,000 cusec) of Western Yamuna Canal by Haryana including Delhi share at Hathnikund Barrage. Both States have formed Task Force for the preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR).

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