Urgent Overhaul Needed in India's Groundwater Management

The Public Accounts Committee highlights slow progress in groundwater modelling and inadequate community participation in water management. The committee demands swift action from the Jal Shakti Ministry to enhance modelling, expand community involvement, and improve water management strategies, emphasizing the need for participatory management and technological advancements in monitoring.

The Public Accounts Committee has flagged the slow progress in groundwater modelling and criticized inadequate community participation in water management. It has called for the Jal Shakti Ministry to take urgent and time-bound action, as presented in the panel's 41st report on groundwater management and regulation in the Lok Sabha.

The report emphasizes the importance of groundwater modelling as a critical tool for estimating water availability and assessing the cumulative effects of increased usage and drought. Despite aquifer mapping covering significant areas, the modelling progress, notably for parts of the Cauvery, Tapi, and Ramganga basins, remains sluggish.

In addition, the report notes that schemes like Atal Bhujal Yojana lack adequate scope to encourage local involvement. The committee urges expanding the program nationwide, with steps to involve communities, technology in monitoring, and a coordinated approach involving government and civil society.