Government Tackles Groundwater Resource Exploitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti Reports
The government is cognizant of the fact that India is one of the largest users of groundwater in the
world and that the country has roughly 4% of the world’s fresh water reserves to cater to the needs of its population which is around 17% of the world’s total.
As per the Ground Water Resource Assessment Report for the year 2023, the total annual extractable groundwater resource for the country has been assessed as 407.21 billion cubic meter (bcm) and the total annual groundwater extraction is assessed as 241.34 bcm.
Water being a State subject, the issues related to development, regulation and management of water resources, including ground water, are primarily the responsibilities of the state governments. The Central Government complements the efforts of the state governments by providing technical support and financial assistance through its institutions and various centrally sponsored schemes. Some of the important measures taken by the Central Government for having a better and more efficient water management system in the country are listed below:
- National Water Policy (2012) formulated by Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, envisages evolving an agricultural system which economizes on water use and maximizes value from water. The policy which primarily focuses on avoiding water wastage, inter-alia, advocates reuse of urban water effluents from kitchens and bathrooms and incentivizing recovery of industrial pollutants for recycle / reuse. The Policy has been forwarded to all States/UTs concerned Ministries/Departments of Central Government for adoption.
- Bureau of Water Use Efficiency (BWUE) has been set up under MoJS to plan and execute nationwide program for promotion of efficient use of water in irrigation, domestic water supply, municipal and/or industrial uses in the country. The BWUE has also been tasked with prescribing guidelines for water conservation codes; Developing standards for water efficient fixtures, appliances, sanitary wares etc; Evolving a system of efficiency labeling/ blue labeling; Promote research and development in the field of water & capacity building in collaboration with states.
- The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under MoJS for the purpose of regulation and control of ground water abstraction. Abstraction cum use of Groundwater in the country is regulated by CGWA by way of issuing NOCs as per the provisions of its Guidelines dated 24.09.2020 which have pan India applicability. As per the Guidelines, infrastructure projects drawing groundwater 20KLD or more are required to install STP and use the treated water for greenbelt development/ washing of cars etc. Further, industries abstracting ground water in excess of 100 KLD are required to undertake biennial water audit, which should recommend reduction in water consumption through recycle/ reuse.
- Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) since August, 2019 to provide potable tap water supply of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household in the country. Under JJM, for villages in water-scarce areas, in order to save the precious fresh water, States are being encouraged to plan new water supply scheme with dual piped water supply system, i.e. supply of fresh water in one and treated grey/waste water in another pipe for non-potable/ gardening/ toilet flushing use.
- Government of India is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country since 2019 which mainly focuses on effectively harvesting the monsoon rainfall through creation of artificial recharge structures, watershed management, recharge and reuse structures, intensive afforestation and awareness generation etc. The 5th edition of JSA for 2024-25 with theme ‘Nari Shakti se Jal Shakti’ has been launched by the ministry in March 2024.
- Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has launched Atal Bhujal Yojana in 8213 water stressed Gram Panchayats of 7 states, which is a community led scheme for participatory ground water management focusing on demand side management of ground water. Under this scheme, inter alia, states are incentivized for adopting water efficient agricultural practices like switching over to drips/sprinklers, crop diversification to less water intensive crops, mulching etc.
- Furthermore, a number of States have done notable work in the field of water conservation/harvesting such as ‘Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan’ in Rajasthan, ‘Jalyukt Shibar’ in Maharashtra, ‘Sujalam Sufalam Abhiyan’ in Gujarat, ‘Mission Kakatiya’ in Telangana, ‘Neeru Chettu’ in Andhra Pradesh, ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali’ in Bihar, ‘Jal Hi Jeevan’ in Haryana, and ‘Kudimaramath’ scheme in Tamil Nadu etc.
- In addition to the above, the Government of India has taken several other significant initiatives for the improvement of groundwater situation in the country which can be seen through link below