Groundwater Crisis Hits 102 Districts: Jal Shakti Ministry

Quick Summary

• Water Disputes: The Krishna and Mahadayi Water disputes Tribunals are at diffrent stages of hearing, involving states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Goa. Awards for disputes in Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri rivers (involving Karnataka) have been finalized.
• Jal shakti Abhiyan Impact: The Jal Shakti Abhiyan has contributed to an increase of 11.36 billion cubic metres in water tables through over two crore conservation initiatives, 142 crore afforestation activities, and 639 district-level water conservation plans. Jal Shakti Kendras are operational in 712 districts across India.
• Groundwater Status: According to the Central Ground Water Resources Assessment Report 2024, India recorded 102 over-exploited districts with critically low groundwater levels.
• Award Ceremony: FKCCI President M.G. Balakrishna commended the Ministry’s efforts at the FKCCI India CSR and Sustainability Awards ceremony held on September 4 while emphasizing FKCCI’s role in Karnataka’s development.

Indian Opinion analysis

Water disputes among states continue to pose challenges despite finalized awards for some major river systems like Godavari and kaveri; resolving active tribunal hearings will be critical for equitable resource sharing among states such as Karnataka-goa (Mahadayi) or Karnataka-Maharashtra-andhra Pradesh (Krishna). On a broader scale, the impact of Jal Shakti Abhiyan demonstrates promising outcomes on water resources management-an increase of over 11 billion cubic metres in water tables signifies tangible progress-but highlights persistent issues borne out by data showing significant groundwater depletion in many districts.with initiatives like afforestation projects reaching large-scale implementation across districts nation-wide underlining sustainability efforts it serves both as evidence to national momentum towards green tooling industry support partnerships like FKCI*.