India, Aug. 10 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), jointly with the concerned State Governments/UT Administrations, assesses the Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country. The assessment estimates total Annual Ground Water Recharge, Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource and Annual Ground Water Extraction for irrigation, domestic and industrial uses. As per Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, total Annual Ground Water Recharge of the country has been assessed as 449 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM), Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource as 408 BCM and Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses (representing groundwater consumption) as 247 BCM. Of total Annual Ground Water Extraction, 215 BCM (87%) is used for irrigation, 28 BCM (11%) for domestic purposes, including drinking water, and 4 BCM (2%) for industrial purposes.
The Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment does not assess groundwater consumption on a per-capita basis. However, it assesses the Stage of Ground Water Extraction, which is the ratio of Annual Ground Water Extraction to Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource. As per the Assessment, the Stage of Ground Water Extraction for the country is 60.63 per cent. The Stage of Ground Water Extraction is higher than the national average in 9 States/UTs viz Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Karnataka. Based on district-wise aggregation of the assessment results, 281 districts have a Stage of Ground Water Extraction higher than the national average. The State/UT-wise and district wise details are available at the following link: https://cgwb.gov.in/PQ/Stage_of_Groundwater_Extraction_more_than-Annexure.pdf
As per the Assessment of Water Resources of India, 2024 carried out by the Central Water Commission (CWC), the estimated average annual per capita water availability for the year 2021 was 1,573.19 cubic metres.
The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates groundwater quality data through its groundwater quality monitoring programme and various scientific studies in accordance with the approved Standard Operating Procedure (SoP), which provides for more frequent and denser sampling, particularly in vulnerable areas. Groundwater quality varies spatially and temporally depending upon local hydrogeological and other conditions. As per the Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2025, groundwater in the country is generally potable and nearly 99 per cent of the monitoring stations have groundwater quality suitable for irrigation use. Since the occurrence and spatial distribution of individual contaminants vary considerably, CGWB does not classify or rank States or districts in terms of the poorest groundwater quality. Parameter-wise groundwater quality data for the country, including the State of Bihar, are available in the Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2025, which can be accessed at the following link: https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/1762854375262680475file.pdf
As per the Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2025, groundwater quality monitoring in Bihar indicates localized occurrence of salinity, fluoride, nitrate etc. contamination. Out of 584 groundwater samples analysed, Electrical Conductivity exceeded the permissible limit in 5 samples, fluoride in 39 samples and nitrate in 78 samples.
Water being a State subject, planning and implementation of measures for groundwater quality improvement, groundwater management, recharge and conservation are primarily the responsibility of the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. However, the Government of India supplements the efforts of the States/UTs through scientific studies, technical guidance, policy support and financial assistance under various programmes. The major initiatives taken in this regard, including in the State of Bihar, are as follows:
The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI SHRI C R PATIL in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
