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What's the article about?
- It talks about India's groundwater situation based on the recently released report by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Relevance:
- GS1: Distribution of Key Natural Resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian subcontinent)
- Prelims
What's the crux of the article?
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti released the “Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report” for the entire country for the year 2022.
- The assessment was carried out jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and States/UTs, which can be used for taking suitable interventions by various stakeholders.
- Assessment indicates an increase in groundwater recharge.
- total annual groundwater recharge = 437.60 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM)
- Total annual groundwater extraction = 239.16 BCM
- Report suggests that groundwater extraction is the lowest since 2004, when it was 231 bcm.
- Out of total 7089 assessment units, 1006 units categorised as ‘Over-exploited’.
- About 87% of total annual groundwater extraction i.e 208.49 bcm is for irrigation use.
- Only 30.69 bcm (about 13 % of the total extraction) is for Domestic & Industrial use.
State wise Assessment:
- The groundwater extraction is very high in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu where it is more than 100%.
- The groundwater extraction is between 60-100% in the states of Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and UTs of Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
- In the rest of the states, the groundwater extraction is below 60%.
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Terms:
Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA):
Challenges with Management of Groundwater in India:
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Way Forward:
- Water ought not to be considered a free, private resource but one whose costs must be measured and borne equitably. While water remains a politically contentious subject in India, the climate crisis should inspire consensus across the political spectrum on disincentivizing the wasteful consumption of this precious resource.
