New Delhi: Almost a sixth of 6,965 units of error (block / tehsil / taluka) ‘exploited “and this together with two other interested categories -‘ Critical ‘and’ semi-critical ‘- account for 35% of the total Units are assessed, according to new findings from the central ground water body (CGWB) in a report that might soon be published.
Although the thinning of groundwater continues to be a concern in India because indiscriminate extraction in several states / UT including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, the latest assessment of the ‘dynamic basic resources’ in this country shows signs of increase due to increasing.
Refill and the efficiency of water use by 2020 compared to 2017.
As a result, the number of ‘over-exploited’ and ‘critical’ assessment units have decreased while the number of units ‘secure’ has increased compared to the previous assessment carried out three years ago.
The ‘Over-Exploited’ unit is where ground water extraction substantially exceeds (more than 100%) refilling groundwater that can be refilled every year.
If it’s between 90-100%, it is under the ‘Critical’ category.
Which is between 70-90% is categorized as ‘semi-critical’ while the unit where extraction is less than 70% of the refill of ground water which can be recharged every year is categorized as the ‘Safe’ category.
Sharing the main points of his findings with the Ministry of ‘Jal Shakti’ (Water Resources), the central ground water body (CGWB) recently linked the increase in groundwater situations to increase refills and decreased natural extraction (rainwater harvesting).
Officials on the council noted that the decline in extraction was mainly due to the increase in the availability of surface water resources because of three consecutive years of normal monsoon rainfall and increased efficiency of water use in various sectors.
The important points of the CGWB report have not been released, accessed by TOI, indicating that 1,114 of 6,965 assessment units in the country are excessive; 270 is very important; 1,057 semi-critical; 4,427 safe and 97 are saline.
Although the Board has taken a higher number of assessment units for analysis by 2020 compared to 2017, findings indicate a percentage of decrease in the number of ‘overexploited’ and ‘critical’ units – the first two categories of the main problem.
According to the report, the availability of the net of extracted groundwater resources has increased from around 393 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 2017 to almost 398 BCM last year while extraction for all use decreased from 249 BCM to 245 BCM – it means more water natural reserves.
Overall the upgrade also increased during the period – from 431.86 BCM in 2017 to 436.15 BCM in 2020.
This finding shows that most areas exploited are mostly concentrated in the northwestern part of the country including parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh where even though the resources that can be filled in abundance, there is a withdrawal of ground water which causes excessive exploitation.
Such areas include parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the southern part of Indian Peninsular including the parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
“The northwestern part is a victim of withdrawal of groundwater indiscriminately (especially for agricultural surgery such as planting rice and sugar cane which is full of water) while the Gujarat and Rajasthan parts fall in the dry climate zone where refilling, which leads to stress resources,” said An official.
Referring to stress in the parts of the Indian peninsular, he said, “the availability of low groundwater in this region is mainly due to the default nature of crystal aquifers.”
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