New Delhi [India], August 10 (ANI): As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, the total Annual Ground Water Recharge of the country has been assessed as 449 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM), Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource as 408 BCM and Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses (representing groundwater consumption) as 247 BCM. Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil shared this information in Parliament on Monday.
Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister Patil stated, “Of total Annual Ground Water Extraction, 215 BCM (87%) is used for irrigation, 28 BCM (11%) for domestic purposes, including drinking water, and 4 BCM (2%) for industrial purposes.”
He also said that, “As per the Assessment, the Stage of Ground Water Extraction for the country is 60.63 per cent. The Stage of Ground Water Extraction is higher than the national average in 9 States/UTs viz Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Karnataka. Based on district-wise aggregation of the assessment results, 281 districts have a Stage of Ground Water Extraction higher than the national average.”
“As per the Assessment of Water Resources of India, 2024 carried out by the Central Water Commission (CWC), the estimated average annual per capita water availability for the year 2021 was 1,573.19 cubic metres.” He added.
On the groundwater quality, CR Patil stated that, “as per the Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2025, groundwater in the country is generally potable and nearly 99 per cent of the monitoring stations have groundwater quality suitable for irrigation use. Since the occurrence and spatial distribution of individual contaminants vary considerably, CGWB does not classify or rank States or districts in terms of the poorest groundwater quality.”
“As per the Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2025, groundwater quality monitoring in Bihar indicates localized occurrence of salinity, fluoride, nitrate etc. contamination. Out of 584 groundwater samples analysed, Electrical Conductivity exceeded the permissible limit in 5 samples, fluoride in 39 samples and nitrate in 78 samples.” He further added.
Minister CR Patil, in his written response, also mentioned the initiatives taken by Centre and state governments. He said, “The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has completed aquifer mapping under National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM 1.0), covering about 25 lakh sq. km of the identified mappable area of the country, including about 90,567 sq. km in the State of Bihar. During 2023-24 to 2025-26, NAQUIM 2.0 covered 143 study areas spanning about 76,857 sq. km across the country, including five high-resolution aquifer mapping study areas covering about 3,202.94 sq. km in Bihar.”
“CGWB has developed an innovative cement-sealing technology for tapping deeper arsenic-safe aquifers in arsenic-affected areas. Using this technology, 525 arsenic-safe exploratory wells have been constructed, including 40 wells in Bihar, and technology has been shared with the State Governments for further implementation.” Jal Shakti Minister stated further.
Minister also highlighted initiatives under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). He said, “As on date, tap water connections have been provided to 15.90 crore rural households, covering about 82 per cent of rural households in the country, including around 1.60 crore households (95.71 per cent) in Bihar. More than 2 crore water conservation and artificial recharge works have been undertaken across the country through convergence, including around 5.75 lakh works in Bihar.”
“To further strengthen the momentum of JSA, the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) initiative was launched in 2024 with the objective of making rainwater harvesting a people’s movement. More than 1.55 crore artificial groundwater recharge and water-storage works have been constructed across the country, including around 7.26 lakh works in Bihar. Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched to develop and rejuvenate at least 75 water bodies in every district of the country. Nearly 69,000 Amrit Sarovars have been developed/rejuvenated, including 2,613 in Bihar, contributing to enhanced water storage and groundwater recharge,” stated CR Patil. (ANI)
Related reading
