Measured electricity supply and prices can help reduce the demand and extraction of groundwater | Photocredit: Rajarathinam RM
About 90 percent of the national drinking water supply of India, and about 50 percent of the urban water supply comes from groundwater. So there is a need for sustainable and fair governance and management of groundwater.
Groundwater, although part of the hydrological cycle and a community source, is still considered an individual property and is used ineffected.
The CGWB report (2024) shows that the stage of groundwater extraction has risen from 58 percent (2004) to 60.47 percent (2024). The stage in states and UTs such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi is more than 70 percent per year. In Haryana, for example, in 2024, the annual groundwater extraction sources is 9.36 BCM, while the annual extraction of groundwater is 12.72 BCM; Thus the stage of groundwater extraction is 135.96 percent. In Punjab, the stage of the extraction of groundwater is 156.87 percent, in Rajasthan 149.86 percent, 100.77 percent in Delhi, in Tamil Nadu 74.6 percent and in Uttar Pradesh 70.65 percent on annual basis (CGWB 2024).
Given the enormous number of groundwater sources than 40 million wells and tuzwells and 4-5 million sources-must effective management around the community are centered instead of the individual. Participative groundwater management (PGWM), which is assumed in Atal Bhujal Yojna (Abhy), should be the backbone of the groundwater program. However, Abhy is only limited to eight states, which must be extended to all states and UTs. The general groundwater assessment on a periodic basis, as is now done by CGWB, does not record any complexities at the micro level in the ground. The National Aquifer Management Program (Naimim) does not offer any high -resolution information required by end users of groundwater.
Basic principles
The following basic principles must be assumed to guarantee sustainable groundwater management. Firstly, water is a state topic under the Indian constitution. However, there are increasing national concerns, such as the right to water that is part of the fundamental right to life; rise of water crisis in many areas; the existence of water conflicts between use, intra-state and interstates; Need equity between use, users, sectors, states, generations; The emerging concerns about the impact of climate change on water, etc. These require to implement a central law in the water sector. The bill of the National Water Framework 2016 must be consulted on a large scale.
Secondly, groundwater in India is governed by the 19th -century British Common Law. This doctrine gives landowners the right to take all the water under their own country. The sanctuary legally an unlimited volume extracted water that can have a negative influence on the water level in adjacent wells or tuzwells. In this context there is a need for urgent assessment of the Indian Easement Act 1882 for better groundwater management in the 21st century.
Thirdly, the managed Aquifer loading program must be launched as part of the MGNREGS and River Area Program to supplement the groundwater.
Fourth, the model Groundwater (Sustainable Management) Bill 2017 must be formally approved, so that states can use this model for sustainable water management and governance. This law must ensure that protection, retention, regulations and management of groundwater are integrated with surface water.
Fifth, sustainable groundwater management includes managing the demand side and demand side. Measured electricity supply and prices can help reduce the demand and extraction of groundwater.
The sixth, in many states, the Panchayat plays little role in groundwater management, although constitutional change (1992) was assumed for the deconcentration of function on water management of Panchayats. State departments often maintain control of groundwater irrigation management, referring to a lack of technical expertise from Panchayat. This should change.
The writer distinguishes Kerel, Teri, and a former secretary, Ministry of Water Resources
Published on July 25, 2025
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