India, Dec. 8 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
The government is committed to ensure sustainable management and development of water and groundwater resources of the country by promoting judicious use and robust conservation efforts. However, it may be appreciated that 'Water' being a State subject, sustainable development and management of water and groundwater resources is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments. The Central Government, on its part, facilitates the efforts of the State Governments by way of technical and financial assistance through its various schemes and projects. The major steps taken in this direction with a focus on Over-exploited, Critical and Semi-critical (OCS) areas of the country, including the achievements thereof, are provided below:
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, which has played a key role in enhancing the sustainability of ground water resources.
As a result of such consistent and cumulative efforts, the data indicates that the overall ground water situation in the country is showing steady improvement. As per the dynamic ground water resource assessment data of CGWB, total annual ground water recharge in the country has increased from 432 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters) to 448.52 BCM between 2017 to 2025. Similarly, the percentage of safe assessment units has increased from 62.6% to 73.14% and that of over-exploited units has declined from 17.2% to 10.8% during the same period.
Regarding the ground water quality aspect, CGWB generates ground water quality data on a regional scale throughout the country as part of its ground water quality monitoring program and various scientific studies as per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
During 2024, Groundwater quality hotspot monitoring was undertaken by the CGWB to assess contaminant distribution and spatial spread in areas where concentrations of key water quality parameters exceeded the permissible limits prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS: 10500:2012). The objective of this exercise was to delineate localized contamination zones and understand the extent of contaminant migration within the surrounding areas.
The hotspot monitoring focused on parameters of major concern at the national level like Arsenic, Fluoride, Nitrate, etc. and sampling analysis was undertaken in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Delhi. Detailed reports of hotspot monitoring are provided in The Annual Ground Water Quality Report - 2025 released by the CGWB, which can be viewed at:
https://cgwb.gov.in/cgwbpnm/public/uploads/documents/1762854375262680475file.pdf#page98
The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
