Groundwater recharge up by 15 billion cubic meters:Jal Shakti Ministry

The Groundwater recharge in the country has increased by 15 billion cubic meters and the groundwater extraction has declined by 3 billion cubic meters from the 2017 to 2024 period.

The latest status of the groundwater recharge in the country ending 31st December 2024 was released by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti in its Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2024.

The groundwater assessment was carried out by the Central Ground Water Board(CGWB), under the Union Jal Shakti ministry, in collaboration with the States and Union Territories.

Who released the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report?

The Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report was released by the Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil in New Delhi on 31st December 2024.

Main points of the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report

The main points of the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2024 are as follows;

• The total annual groundwater recharge in the country is -446.90 billion cubic meters (BCM). 
• Annual extractable groundwater resource - 406.19 BCM. 
• Annual groundwater extraction for all uses - 245.64 BCM. 
• Average stage of groundwater extraction in the country stands at 60.47 %.
• Consistent increase in recharge from Tanks, Ponds, and Water Conservation Structures in the last five assessments. As compared to 2023 the groundwater recharge increase in 2024 was  0.39 BCM.
• Increase of 11.36 BCM in recharge from Tanks, Ponds & WCS from 2017(from 13.98 BCM in 2017 to 25.34 BCM in 2024).
• The percentage of Assessment Units ((Blocks/ Mandals/ Talukas) under the Safe Category has increased from 62.6% in 2017 to 73.4 % in 2024 (2023 it was 73.14 % in 2023).
• The percentage of Over Exploited Assessment units has declined from 17.24 % in 2017 to 11.13 % in 2024 (in 2023 it was 11.23%).

What is Groundwater Recharge?

In a general sense, groundwater recharge refers to the process of downward flow of water through the soil to the underground water table.

The water flow could be due to rain or precipitation, the melting of snow which has percolated downwards through unsaturated zones. 

The water also percolates through riverbeds, lakes, or artificially constructed water structures for rainwater harvesting, etc

Water extraction refers to the pumping out of the water from the underground water table through wells, tube wells, etc for drinking, irrigation, industrial purposes, etc.

When the rate of groundwater recharge is less than the rate of extraction of water then it leads to a fall in the underground water table creating a water crisis.