“The ideal solution of depleting ground water resources in India is water harvesting system.” How can it be made effective in urban areas ?

Ground water depletion in India:

1. Reducing ground water aquifers.
2. More than 250 geo districts have over exploited ground water (CGWB).
3. More than 600 million population face acute water stress (NITI Aayog).
4. Levels of water have gone below to the depth of 200 feet in rural India.

Reasons of the crisis:

1. Agriculture has unsustainable irrigation → 27% world's groundwater extraction; 87% of it is used for irrigation.

2. Water intensive crops → like rice → which require 20-25 times irrigation per sowing season. → Export of Virtual water

3. Explicit Government policies → which support ground water exploitation through power subsidies.

4. Rising population → largest population with 1.4 Bn people. → rising stress on ground water.

5. Low portion of fresh water → 17% of world population has 4% of water resources.

6. Unsustainable ground water extraction techniques → de-regulated handpumps, wells, etc

7. Inefficient ground water discharge → due to [deforestation], [urbanisation] & [Industrialisation]

effects of groundwater depletion on rural communities

1. Rural agricultural distress → declining crop yield → Non available requisite water for crops.
2. Ground water contamination → E.g. Mercury, Arsenic contamination in Bihar → Malwa (Punjab) → Considered as cancer capital.
3. Increased incidences of droughts → low soil moisture retention leading to prolonged drought.
4. drying up of wetlands : in summers
5. water scarcity : as seen in Northern India during heat waves.
6. diseases to rural population → E.g. Itai-Itai in Kerala.

What should be done → Regulate ground water irrigation → Integrated watershed management → move to dry land farming → Afforestation (as per National Afforestation Policy 1988)