Punjab is number 1 in over-exploitation of groundwater in the country

Punjab is number 1 in over-exploitation of groundwater in the country

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in

“109 blocks out of 138 blocks in Punjab are over exploited “as per the Central Ground Water Board report, which periodically assess the ground water resources pan-India in collaboration with States/UTs. Punjab tops in a Pan India survey, with 79 percent of its blocks surveyed are over exploited.

Punjab is followed by Delhi with 65 per cent and Rajasthan with 63 per cent and Haryana 61 per cent of the assessment units were being over-exploited. While over-exploitation of groundwater is the highest in this region, there are many states and union territories where there is no over-exploitation.

The extraction of groundwater is increasing in the agrarian state, government data has revealed. A major reason for over-exploitation of groundwater is the largescale cultivation of paddy in Punjab, which is water-intensive and the dependence on groundwater over canal or river water in many parts of the state.

As per the data tabled in the Lok Sabha, out of the total 6881 assessment units (Block/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the country, 1186 units (17 percent of the units) in 17 States/UTs have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’ where the Annual Ground Water Extraction is more than Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource.

“Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management including conservation and water harvesting in the Country is primarily States’ responsibility, “said the report.

Punjab is number 1in over-exploitation of groundwater in the country. In addition, a number of States have done notable work in the field of water conservation/harvesting. Of these, mention can be made of ‘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 among others.

Annexure I

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) & (b) of Unstarred Question No. 3840 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 18.03.2021 regarding “Water Stressed Districts”.

CATEGORIZATION OF BLOCKS/ MANDALS/ TALUKAS IN INDIA (2017)
S.No.	States / Union Territories	Total No. of Assessed Units	Safe		Semi-Critical		Critical		Over-Exploited		Saline
			Nos.	%	Nos.	%	Nos.	%	Nos.	%	Nos.	%
	States
1	Andhra Pradesh	670	501	75	60	9	24	4	45	7	40	6
2	Arunachal Pradesh	11	11	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Assam	28	28	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Bihar	534	432	81	72	13	18	3	12	2	0	0
5	Chattisgarh	146	122	84	22	15	2	1	0	0	0	0
6	Delhi	34	3	9	7	21	2	6	22	65	0	0
7	Goa	12	12	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Gujarat	248	194	78	11	4	5	2	25	10	13	5
9	Haryana	128	26	20	21	16	3	2	78	61	0	0
10	Himachal Pradesh	8	3	38	1	13	0	0	4	50	0	0
11	Jammu & Kashmir	22	22	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Jharkhand	260	245	94	10	4	2	1	3	1	0	0
13	Karnataka	176	97	55	26	15	8	5	45	26	0	0
14	Kerala	152	119	78	30	20	2	1	1	1	0	0
15	Madhya Pradesh	313	240	77	44	14	7	2	22	7	0	0
16	Maharashtra	353	271	77	61	17	9	3	11	3	1	0
17	Manipur	9	9	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Meghalaya	11	11	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	Mizoram	26	26	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Nagaland	11	11	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	Odisha	314	303	96	5	2	0	0	0	0	6	2
22	Punjab	138	22	16	5	4	2	1	109	79	0	0
23	Rajasthan	295	45	15	29	10	33	11	185	63	3	1
24	Sikkim	4	4	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	Tamil Nadu	1166	427	37	163	14	79	7	462	40	35	3
26	Telangana	584	278	48	169	29	67	11	70	12	0	0
27	Tripura	59	59	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	Uttar Pradesh*	830	540	65	151	18	48	6	91	11	0	0
29	Uttarakhand	18	13	72	5	28	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	West Bengal **	268	191	71	76	28	1	0	0	0	0	0
	Total States	6828	4265	62	968	14	312	5	1185	17	98	1
	Union Territories
1	Andaman & Nicobar	36	35	97	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3
2	Chandigarh	1	0	0	1	100	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	1	1	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Daman & Diu	2	1	50	0	0	1	50	0	0	0	0
5	Lakshdweep	9	6	67	3	33	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Puducherry	4	2	50	0	0	0	0	1	25	1	25
	Total UTs	53	45	85	4	8	1	2	1	2	2	4
	Grand Total	6881	4310	63	972	14	313	5	1186	17	100	1
Note
Blocks– Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, M.P., Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Taluks -Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra
Mandals – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Districts/Valley– Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland
Islands – Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Firka-Tamil Nadu
Region – Puducherry
UT – Chandigarh, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu
Tehsil-NCT Delhi
*Uttar Pradesh: There are total 820 block and 10 Cities
**The Ground Water resources assessment as on 2013 has been considered for the state of West Bengal

Punjab is number 1 in over-exploitation of groundwater in the country.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social Justice and Empowerment Rattan Lal Kataria in Lok Sabha yesterday.

March 19,2021