Water requirement of the country for irrigation in high demand scenario for the years 2025 and 2050 has been assessed by National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development-1999 as 611 BCM (Billion Cubic Metre) and 807 BCM respectively.

As per ground water resource assessment for the years 2017, 2020 and 2022, the ground water extraction utilised by the irrigation sector are 221.46 BCM, 217.61 BCM and 208.49 BCM, respectively. State-wise demand for water being met by the ground water resources in the agricultural sector, as per Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment 2022, is given in Annexure I. The average annual utilizable surface water resources of Indian basins is 690 BCM which inter alia caters to irrigation requirements also.

Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

Government of India, in partnership with State, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to make provision of tap water supply to every rural household of the country by 2024.

Government of India has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) in 2015 which focuses on development of basic urban infrastructure especially water supply & access to tap connection to every household in 500 cities. Taking it forward, AMRUT 2.0 has been launched in 2021 which covers all the statutory towns of the country to ensure universal coverage of water supply.

To ensure optimum utilization of water, Government of India has been implementing Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PMKSY) from 2015-16 onwards. Under PMKSY-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), 99 ongoing major/medium irrigation projects were prioritized during 2016-17, in consultation with States. Implementation of PMKSY for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 has been approved by Government of India, with an overall outlay of Rs. 93,068.56 crore.

Government of India is implementing Per Drop More Crop scheme which is operational from 2015-16 in the country. The Per Drop More Crop scheme mainly focuses on water use efficiency at farm level through micro irrigation (drip and sprinkler irrigation system).

The Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched on National Panchayati Raj Day on 24^th April, 2022 as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with an objective to conserve water for future. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan-I (JSA-I) was conducted in 2019 in 1,592 blocks out of 2,836 blocks in 256 water stressed districts of the country and was expanded as “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) in 2021 with the theme “Catch the Rain – Where it Falls When it Falls” to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country. “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” (JSA:CTR) -2022 campaign, the third in the series of JSAs, was launched on 29.03.2022 to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country. Now, JSA: CTR 2023 has been launched by the Hon’ble President of India on 04.03.2023 across the country.

Government of India is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana, a Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore in identified water stressed areas of 8,220 Gram Panchayats (GPs) under 229 blocks in 80 districts of 7 States viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with an aim to arrest decline in ground water level through community led sustainable groundwater management. The scheme is being implemented from 01.04.2020 for a period of 5 years.

The important steps taken by the Central Government for sustainable ground water management in the country can be seen at the URL: http://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/sites/default/files/Steps%20taken%20by%20the%20Central%20Govt%20for%20water_depletion_july2022.pdf

(e) The state-wise details of the ground water resources available are given in Annexure II.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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AS

ANNEXURE-I

State Wise Ground Water Resources of India-2022 (in BCM)

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