The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has said that 74 per cent of the 1,087 wells being monitored in Karnataka have seen an increase in the groundwater level over a period of ten years. This is a welcome update after the state experienced water crisis. Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary provided this information to MP from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Kota Srinivas Poojary as an answer to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha regarding the receding groundwater table in Karnataka.
The Minister informed that the Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) observes the groundwater levels across the country four times annually. The post-monsoon 2024 (November) district-wise data on groundwater levels collected in Karnataka reported approximately 96 pc of the observed wells with water levels falling in the range of 0-10 metres below ground level, showing ease of groundwater accessibility.
Choudhary added district-wise groundwater level data of November 2024 were compared against the decadal mean of November month of the last 10 years (2014-2023). The comparison showed that approximately 74 pc of the wells observed (1,087) have recorded an increase in the groundwater level.
611 (56.21pc) out of the 1,087 wells have reported 0-2 metre increase; 127 (11.68 pc) reported 2-4 metre increase; and 66 (6.07 pc) wells reported above four-metre increase.
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However, 242 (22.6 pc) wells have shown 0-2 metre drop in the level, and 26 (2.39 pc) wells have shown over four-metre drop in the level, he added.
The Minister informed that the government has been carrying out Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in India since 2019 to reap the rains and undertake water conservation works. The JSA was a convergence campaign through which multiple groundwater recharge and conservation activities were being carried out under convergence with different Central and State schemes.
As per the details available on JSA dashboard, about 16.66 lakh water conservation and artificial recharge structures have come up or been renovated during the period from 2021 to date in Karnataka. Apart from it, 31 Jal Shakti Kendras have been established in every district to disseminate the knowledge among water users and citizens also consult them," he said.
Karnataka is one of seven States where Atal Bhujal Yojna, a community-driven programme for participatory management of groundwater on demand-side management, is being implemented across 80 water-stressed districts. As many as 4,056 Amrit Sarovars were either built or renewed in Karnataka under Mission Amrit Sarovar which focused on rejuvenating at least 75 waterbodies per district.
The State and Central governments have incurred ₹9,148 crore on water conservation, groundwater recharge, and rainwater harvesting works from April 2021 to July 2025, he further added.
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