Rational use of groundwater

 Groundwater accounts for about 30 % of the total volume of all freshwaters in the world, and its recharge is crucial for rivers to keep flowing with adequate discharge. The Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment Report 2023 shows a marginal decrease in the extraction of ground water in Assam. The prevailing situation may not hold in the coming years, as about 34 % of total rural households are yet to be provided a functional tap connection under the flagship Jal Jeevan Mission. Groundwater being a source in addition to surface water for supplying piped water supply to rural households, its extraction may increase depending on progress on JJM-Implementation and amount of water drawn by beneficiary households. The report highlights that the total annual groundwater recharge of the State has been estimated at 27.26 billion cubic metres (bcm) and annual extractable groundwater resources are 20.93 bcm. The current annual extraction for all uses is 2.63 bcm and the stage of groundwater extraction is 12.54 %. Other key highlights are: As compared to the 2022 assessment, the annual recharge for the State has increased from 26.53 bcm in 2022 to 27.26 bcm in 2023, annual extractable groundwater resources increased from 21.40 bcm in 2022 to 20.93 bcm in 2023 and total extraction decreased from 2.65 bcm in 2022 to 2.63 bcm in 2023. The fact that 99.71 % of groundwater sources have been marked ‘safe’ the challenge is to prevent overextraction to conserve this important source of freshwater for future. As stated in the report, rainfall accounts for nearly 60 % of the total annual groundwater recharge. Erratic and large deficient rainfall in different parts of the country due to climate change impacts sounds caution against any complacency over comparatively low volume of extraction in the state. Other factors like rising demand for groundwater for industrial and agricultural also need to be taken into account to draw a comprehensive roadmap for the future. Connectivity push by the central and state governments has led to expansion of road, railway and air inland water connectivity in Assam and other states in the northeast region. With the return of peace and the accelerated pace of infrastructure development, the State has started attracting new investors. Industrial growth will also push demand for groundwater extraction. Agriculture accounts for the largest share of groundwater, followed by domestic use and industrial use. In Assam, about 60 % of cultivated areas are rainfed, which also explains why efforts to motivate farmers to go for multi-cropping have not been successful. With many lift irrigation-schemes, which use river and other sources of surface water, lying defunct, the use of submersible pumps has gained popularity to boost agricultural production in some areas of the state. The Government has been supporting the installation of solar irrigation pumps to boost agricultural production and overcome the problem of irrigation schemes going defunct due to non-availability of grid-connected electricity supply. Farmers in the state going for double crops with assured irrigation water using a solar irrigation pump to boost production will lead to increase in demand for groundwater and resultant increase in extraction, which must be kept in mind before rushing to any conclusion based on the current stage of groundwater extraction. The Report states that the average stage of groundwater extraction for the country as a whole works out to be about 59.26 %. It also brings to light the worrying situation of overextraction in some regions in the country. The northwestern part of the country, including parts of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh, where, even though the replenishable resources are abundant, there have been indiscriminate withdrawals of groundwater leading to overexploitation; the western part of the country, particularly in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, where, due to the arid climate, groundwater recharge itself is limited, leading to stress on the resource, and the southern part of peninsular India, including parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where, due to inherent characteristics of crystalline aquifers, the groundwater availability is low. “Out of 407.21 bcm of Total Annual Extractable Resources of the country, 45.12 bcm (11 %) are under ‘Over-Exploited’, 12.92 bcm (3 %) are under ‘Critical’, 47.38 bcm (12 %) are under ’Semi-Critical’, 301.8 bcm (74 %) are under 'Safe‘ category,” according to the latest dynamic assessment. Assam must draw lessons from ground realities in these states while gradually increasing standalone solar irrigation pumps or diesel-water pumps for groundwater extraction for irrigating farmland. Official data shows that groundwater contributes nearly 62 % water in irrigation, 85 % in rural water supply and 50 % in urban water supply across the country. The new assessment of groundwater recharge and extraction calls for meticulous planning for the coming decades by states like Assam, where the extraction is still quite less. Prioritising rainwater harvesting is essential to prevent groundwater overuse.