Total annual groundwater recharge in country increased by 15 BCM in 2024
The total annual groundwater recharge in the nation has seen a significant increase of 15 billion cubic meters, while extraction has decreased by three billion cubic meters in 2024.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil unveiled the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report for the year 2024. The findings indicate that the total annual groundwater recharge has been evaluated at over 446 billion cubic meters.
The annual groundwater extraction for various uses exceeds 245 billion cubic meters. The report emphasizes that all groundwater samples from the North-Eastern States fall within the excellent category for irrigation purposes.
This assessment was conducted collaboratively by the Central Ground Water Board along with the States and Union Territories.
According to the Ministry, of the total 6,746 assessment units across Blocks, Mandals, and Talukas, more than 73 percent are classified as Safe, while approximately three percent are deemed Critical.
Key Highlights:
- The total annual groundwater recharge has seen a significant increase of 15 BCM, while extraction has decreased by 3 BCM in 2024 compared to the 2017 assessment. However, there is a slight reduction in recharge and an increase in extraction when comparing the current assessment year to the previous year.
- Recharge from tanks, ponds, and water conservation structures (WCS) has demonstrated a steady rise over the last five assessments, with an increase of 0.39 BCM in 2024 relative to 2023.
- In comparison to 2017, recharge from tanks, ponds, and WCS has risen by 11.36 BCM, growing from 13.98 BCM in 2017 to 25.34 BCM in 2024.
- The proportion of assessment units classified as safe has increased from 62.6% in 2017 to 73.4% in 2024, with the percentage of safe assessment units recorded at 73.14% in 2023.
- Conversely, the percentage of over-exploited assessment units has decreased from 17.24% in 2017 to 11.13% in 2024, with the percentage of over-exploited assessment units at 11.23% in 2023.