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Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2025
What’s the News?
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2025, providing a detailed analysis of the country’s aquifer health and water usage.
- The report highlights a positive trend, showing an increase in the total annual ground water recharge and a gradual decline in the stage of extraction compared to previous years.
- This annual assessment is a collaborative effort between the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and various State Governments/Union Territories to guide sustainable water management policies.
Key Findings
- Recharge & Availability:
- Total annual groundwater recharge: 446.90 BCM.
- Annual extractable resource: 398.82 BCM.
- Net annual availability: 173.18 BCM (after deducting 245.64 BCM annual extraction).
- Stage of Groundwater Extraction (SOE):
- National average SOE: 60.47% (up from 59.21% in 2017).
- SOE >100% indicates over-extraction (draft exceeds recharge in that unit).
- Unit-wise Classification (out of 6,762 assessment units):
- Safe: 73.4% (up from 62.6% in 2017).
- Over-exploited: 11.13% (751 units; down from 17.24% in 2017).
- Critical: 4.45%
- Semi-critical: 6.62%
Regional Groundwater Stress
- High-concentration zones of over-exploited units:
- Northwest: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh.
- West & South: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu.
- States like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu continue to report SOE >100%.
Additional Info
- Institutional & Legal Framework:
- Central Ground Water Board (CGWB): The national apex organization under the Ministry of Jal Shakti responsible for monitoring and managing ground water resources.
- Constitutional Position: While Water is a State Subject (Entry 17, List II), the Central Government provides policy frameworks and technical support under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Article 21: The Supreme Court has repeatedly interpreted the Right to Life to include the right to access clean and sufficient water.
- Key Government Initiatives:
- Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY): A ₹6,000 crore World Bank-funded central sector scheme focusing on community-led sustainable ground water management in water-stressed blocks.
- Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA): A campaign focused on rainwater harvesting, borewell recharge, and intensive afforestation.
- PM-KUSUM: Promotes solar irrigation pumps to reduce the use of diesel/electricity, indirectly helping regulate ground water extraction through better power management.
- Assessment Methodology: The report follows the GEC-2015 (Ground Water Estimation Methodology), which considers both rainfall and non-monsoon sources like canal seepage and return flow from irrigation.