WB: Overexploitation of groundwater in India
NEW DELHI, March 5, 2010: India is the largest user of groundwater in the world, with an estimated use of 230 cubic kilometers of groundwater every year – more than a quarter of the global total. In fact, groundwater use has been steadily increasing in India over the last 4-5 decades. Today, groundwater supports approximately 60 percent of irrigated agriculture and more than 80 percent of rural and urban water supplies, says a new World Bank report launched today.
However, groundwater resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. Today, 29 percent of groundwater blocks are semi-critical, critical, or overexploited, and the situation is deteriorating rapidly. By 2025, an estimated 60 percent of India’s groundwater blocks will be in a critical condition. Climate change will further strain groundwater resources.
Even though there is a major dependence of many sectors on groundwater and it is facing a critical threat of overexploitation, there is little investment in its management. This inaction has arisen mainly because the solutions often proposed for groundwater management are very controversial – these include “command-and-control” regulation of wells, curbing the supply of free or cheap power for groundwater irrigation, etc.
The report, Deep Wells and Prudence: Towards Pragmatic Action for Addressing Groundwater Overexploitation in India was initiated with the objective of identifying practical and politically feasible strategies for managing groundwater use in India. The approach was to look for pragmatic models that have demonstrated potential for success.
“The report provides a menu of practical interventions which can be implemented in the current environment. We hope that these findings can inspire an action agenda for moving swiftly to protect the vital but ever-declining aquifers of the country,” said Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India.
Tags: drinking water, environment, Global Warming, groundwater, groundwater in India, water scarcity, women and water
