Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), an organisation under this Department is implementing the Central Sector Scheme ‘Ground Water Management & Regulation’ in the country including West Bengal for delineation of aquifer disposition & their characterization for preparation of aquifer/ area specific ground water management plans, Ground Water (GW) Monitoring, GW Resource Assessment, GW Regulation, etc. The information generated are shared with States/UTs for their suitable interventions.

 Ministry has circulated a Model Bill to all the States/UTs to enable them to enact suitable ground water legislation which includes provision of rain water harvesting. So far, 21 States/UTs have adopted and implemented the ground water legislation on the lines of Model Bill including West Bengal. The status of enactment of Model bill by States are given in Annexure.

Further, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has formulated Model Building Bye Laws (MBBL), 2016 for the States/UTs. As per MBBL, all buildings having a plot size of 100 Sq.m. or, more shall mandatorily include the complete proposal of rainwater harvesting. 35 States/ UTs have adopted the features of the Bye Laws.

Water being State subject, the efforts to improve and manage groundwater conditions fall under States’ mandate, however, a number of steps has been taken by Central Government in this regard which can be seen at

https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s3a70dc40477bc2adceef4d2c90f47eb82/uploads/2023/02/2023021742.pdf. However, some of them are listed as under.

1. Government of India is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country. First JSA was launched in 2019 in water stressed blocks of 256 districts which continued during the years 2021, 2022 also (across entire country both rural and urban areas) with the primary aim to effectively harvest the monsoon rainfall through creation of artificial recharge structures, watershed management, recharge and reuse structures, intensive afforestation and awareness generation etc. JSA for the year 2023 have been launched by the President of India on 4 March 2023 with the theme “Source Sustainability for Drinking Water”.

2. The Prime Minister has launched Amrit Sarovar Mission on 24^th April 2022. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

3. The Central Government is implementing Atal Bhujal Yojana with an outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore, in collaboration with States, in certain water stressed areas of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The primary aim of the scheme is demand side management through scientific means involving the local communities at village levels leading to sustainable groundwater management in the targeted areas.

4. Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted under section 3(3) of the "Environment (Protection) Act, 1986" for the purpose of regulation and control of ground water by industries, mining projects, infrastructure projects etc in the country. The guideline in this regard with pan-India applicability was notified by the Ministry on 24 September 2020 with subsequent amendment on 29 March 2023. CGWA and States issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for extraction of groundwater to various industries/project proponents as per their jurisdiction and as per the extant guidelines.

5. CGWB is implementing National Aquifer Mapping Program (NAQUIM) in the country and an area of 25.15 lakh sq km (the available mappable area) has been covered under the NAQUIM studies. The NAQUIM study report along-with management plans are shared with States/UTs for suitable interventions.

6. Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by the CGWB in collaboration with States/UTs providing a broad outline of the project and expected investments. The Master Plan envisages construction of about 1.42 crore Rain Water Harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM) of water. The Master plan has been shared with States/UTs for suitable interventions.

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

 

ANNEXURE

States/ UTs where Model Bill Enacted and Implemented (15 States and 6 UTs)

States/ UTs where Initiatives taken for Enactment of Model Bill (10 States and 1 UTs)

 

States which feel it not necessary to Enact Legislation (4 States)

 

 

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AS

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