Ground water law implemented in 21 states and union territories

Tags: National News

On 20 July 2023, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti informed the Parliament that 21 states and union territories have implemented the Ground Water Act.

An Overview of the news:

• In this law, provision has been made for rain water harvesting. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweshwar Tudu informed that the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has prepared a model bill to enable all states and union territories to enact appropriate groundwater laws.

States implementing rain water harvesting model:

• According to the ministry, the 21 states/UTs which have so far implemented groundwater laws on the lines of the Model Bill include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Tap water to 60% rural households in SC areas:

• Under this, tap water has been provided to 60 percent rural households in Scheduled Caste (SC) dominated areas.
• Out of 2,18,06,280 rural households in SC-concentrated/dominated habitations, 1,32,64,760 have been given tap water connections.

Extensive use of groundwater in agriculture:

• India is mainly dependent on groundwater for irrigation and it is using a major part of the total global amount of groundwater. Because about 70% of food production in the country is done with the help of tube wells.

Ground water crisis:

• This excessive dependence of agriculture on ground water is giving rise to the ground water crisis. There is a need for a comprehensive action plan for groundwater conservation.
• In this context, in the 'World Water Development Report' in 2018, UNESCO had described India as the world's largest groundwater user.