Context: Recently, an analysis of water level data done by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) indicates that about 33% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water levels in the range of 0 – 2 metres.
Reason for Groundwater Extraction

Impact of Green Revolution: Green Revolution enabled water intensive crops to be grown in drought prone/ water deficit regions, leading to over extraction of groundwater.

• Frequent pumping of water from the ground without waiting for its replenishment leads to quick depletion.
• Further, Subsidies on electricity and high MSP (Minimum Support Price) for water intensive crops.

Industries Requirement: Water contamination as in the case of pollution by landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks, and from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides leading to damage and depletion of groundwater resources.

Inadequate Regulation: Inadequate regulation of groundwater encourages the exhaustion of groundwater resources without any penalty.

• In India, construction of irrigation wells does not require any clearance and no records are maintained of abandoned wells.
• Several hundred wells are constructed in India every day and even more are abandoned when they run dry.

Federal Issue: Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management including water conservation and water harvesting and making available adequate drinkable water to citizens in the Country is primarily States’ responsibility.
Key Highlights of the CGWB analysis

• 33% of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water levels.
• Decline of more than 4.0 m has also been observed in few pockets of Delhi, Chennai, Indore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Vijayawada, Dehradun, Jaipur, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, and Lucknow.

Central governmental initiatives
Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019.

• Aim: To improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks of 256 districts in India.

Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken up the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA: CTR) with the theme “Catch the Rain - Where it Falls When it Falls”

• Aim:  To cover all the blocks of all districts across the country for focusing on saving and conserving rainwater.

Atal Bhujal Yojana is being implemented in several water stressed areas.

• Aim: sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation.

National Aquifer Mapping and Management program (NAQUIM) is being implemented by CGWB.

• It is a part of Ground Water Management and Regulation (GWM & R) Scheme, a Central Sector scheme.

Aim: To facilitate sustainable management of ground water resources through:

• Mapping and characterization of aquifers (water bearing formations)
• Development of Aquifer Management Plans
• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in consultation with States/UTs has prepared ‘Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater - 2020’.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

• Aim: To support artificial groundwater recharge/water harvesting works in the country.

Current status of groundwater in India

• The Annual Replenishable Ground Water Resource is contributed by two major sources – rainfall and surface runoff.
• The overall contribution of rainfall to country’s Annual Replenishable Ground Water Resource is 67% and the share of other sources taken together is 33%.
• The status of ground water development is comparatively high in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan and UT of Daman & Diu and Pondicherry.

???????Stage of Ground Water Development is more than 100%,

• It also implies that these states the average annual ground water consumption is more than average annual ground water recharge.
• In the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh the average stage of ground water development is 70% and above.
• In rest of the states / UT's the stage of ground water development is below 70%.
• The water table is under critical zones in two-third villages of Rajasthan due to scanty rainfall and geographical location of the state.

Key Initiatives taken

• Restricting Illegal Encroachment of Water Bodies
• Micro Irrigation techniques like sprinkler or drip irrigation should be encouraged.
• Artificial Recharge of Groundwater
• Concept like Pani Panchayats need to adopt appropriate measures to make water conservation a mass movement.