Data 2022: Groundwater depletion in Madhya Pradesh is a serious concern

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring the groundwater levels throughout the Country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells. In order to assess the long-term fluctuation in groundwater level, the water level data collected by CGWB during November 2021 has been compared with the decadal mean of November (2011-2020). Analysis of water level data indicates a decline in groundwater level in about 34% of wells in Madhya Pradesh, 18% wells in Bihar, 26% wells in Uttar Pradesh, and 59% wells in Rajasthan whereas the remaining wells registered a rise in groundwater level.

Further, in Madhya Pradesh, about 23% of the wells monitored in the Dewas district have registered a decline in groundwater level, whereas about 52% in Sagar District showed a declining trend. In Bihar, about 16% of the wells monitored in the Patna/Patliputra district have registered a decline in groundwater level. In Uttar Pradesh, no decline has been observed in the district of Pratapgarah, however, Bahraich district under which Kaisergunj falls has shown 20 % of the wells have a declining trend of groundwater level. In Rajasthan, about 50% of the wells monitored in Chittorgarh have registered a decline in groundwater level. 

District -wise Decadal Water Level Fluctuation with Mean and November 2021 in MADHYA PRADESH

Important initiatives on management of groundwater resources

The government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019, a time-bound campaign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including groundwater conditions in the water-stressed blocks of 256 districts in India including 11 districts in Madhya Pradesh, 12 districts in Bihar, 35 districts in Uttar Pradesh, 29 districts in Rajasthan. In this regard, teams of officers from the Central Government along with technical officers from Ministry of Jal Shakti were deputed to visit water-stressed districts and to work in close collaboration with district-level officials to undertake suitable interventions.

In addition, the 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” to cover all the blocks of all districts (rural as well as urban areas) across the country during 22nd March 2021 to 30th November 2021. The campaign was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22 March 2021.

Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by CGWB in consultation with States/UTs which is a macro-level plan indicating various structures for the different terrain conditions of the country. The Master Plan - 2020 envisages the construction of about 1.42 crore rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the country to harness 185 Billion Cubic meters (BCM).

Further, in Madhya Pradesh, the Master Plan envisages the construction of about 7.2 lakh Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge structures to harness 9188 Million Cubic meters (MCM) of monsoon rainfall. Similarly, the Master Plan recommends 91 thousand structures for harvesting 66352 MCM of rainfall in Bihar, 23 thousand structures for harvesting 2743 MCM of rainfall in Uttar Pradesh, 7.7 lakh structures for harvesting 5305 MCM of rainfall in Rajasthan.

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