Govt. project to fight groundwater depletion - Fusion - WeRIndia

Water is the greatest necessity for life on the planet, but since it comes in such abundance, people often take it for granted and use it indulgently.

However, the water supply, especially the supply of groundwater, is quickly being depleted by over consumption.

Annually, India extracts about 251 cubic kilometers of groundwater, which is 25% of the entire annual extraction of groundwater around the world.

China and the United States follow India in second and third place, but their level of groundwater depletion is not as much as the India’s level of groundwater depletion alone.

This is an alarming fact, since groundwater is essential for both farming purposes and living purposes.

Over the recent decades, India’s use of groundwater has grown at an exponential rate. It provides for 85% of rural drinking water requirements,

60% of the irrigation needs of the country, and 50% of urban water requirements.

Now, the groundwater system is becoming increasingly unsustainable.

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has given a report that shows how, out of the 6,548 blocks that they assessed, 1,034 of them were over exploited.

These blocks are classified as “dark zones”, which are areas where the rate of depletion of the groundwater exceeds the rate of recharging of the groundwater.

The Center is shocked by these statistics, and is implementing a plan to manage this issue, which is called Atal Bhujal Yojana.

The plan is worth ₹ 6,000 crore, half of which is funded by the World Bank, and the rest of which is funded by the government through budgetary support.

Atal Bhujal Yojana will focus on the efficient management of water recourses and the involvement of the community to boost the recharge mechanism.

The eventual goal of this plan is to encourage healthy water conservation habits in future generations, so that India can replenish and manage its groundwater supply, and future generations can realize the importance of conserving water.

Image Credit: François Molle
“Groundwater-based irrigation, India” by Water Alternatives is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Image Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/water_alternatives/27350232340/