Protecting the priceless: Using groundwater

An overview of India's groundwater situation has recently been made public by the Ministry of Water Resources. On the
surface, there is good news: the country's total annual groundwater recharge, which is defined as the groundwater
stored, is 437.60 billion cubic metres (bcm), of which 239.16 bcm was taken. According to a comparable study
conducted in 2020, 245 bcm of groundwater was extracted annually while 436 bcm was recharged. Recharge in 2017
was 432 bcm, while extraction was 249 bcm. According to the 2022 assessment, groundwater extraction is at its lowest
level since 2004, when it reached 231 bcm. The National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India
report, however, states that the improvement is only “marginal” and may be explained by natural conditions and
changes in methodology that the Central Ground Water Board and States, who conduct the survey, adopt.
A decrease in groundwater extraction may indicate better water management. In fact, more groundwater blocks or
wells than in prior years were employed for estimation, and it turned out that the proportion of blocks with ‘critically' low
groundwater levels was around 14%, or nearly equivalent to that in earlier years. The majority of the groundwater
blocks with critical levels are found in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and western Uttar Pradesh, where unregulated
groundwater withdrawal has lowered the water table despite replenishable systems.
Other blocks that are in risk are those in Rajasthan and Gujarat, where arid climates limit groundwater recharge, and
lastly, areas of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, where crystalline water-storing aquifers naturally limit
groundwater supply. It is obvious that much more work has to be done to conserve groundwater. There is no overarching law
that governs the use of groundwater, and each State has its own laws governing its extraction that are only sporadically enforced.
A draught National Water Policy has suggested switching from water-intensive crops and giving recycled water
precedence over freshwater for industrial uses. Water shouldn't be viewed as a free, private resource; instead, its expenses
should be calculated and shared fairly. While the politics of water are still divisive in India, the climate crisis should spur
agreement on disincentives for wasteful consumption of this valuable resource.