Per Capita Water Availability Reducing In India Due To Increase In Population: Govt In Lok Sabha

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bisweshwar Tudu, however, said there has been a rise in ground water level following initiatives by both the Central and state governments.

Sounding a note of caution, the government said on Friday that the per capita water availability in the country was reducing due to increase in population. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bisweshwar Tudu said while the average annual water availability of a country is dependent upon hydro-meteorological and geological factors, water availability per person is dependent on population of a country.

"Based on the study titled 'Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs, 2019' conducted by Central Water Commission, the average annual per capita water availability for year 2021 and 2031 has been assessed as 1486 cubic meter and 1367 cubic meter respectively," the minister said in Lok Sabha.

Tudu, however, said there has been a rise in ground water level following initiatives by both the Central and state governments.

"Central Ground Water Board is periodically monitoring the ground water levels throughout the country on a regional scale through a network of monitoring wells. In order to assess the decline in water level on a long-term basis, the water level data collected by CGWB during November 2022 has been compared with the decadal average (2012-2021). Analysis of water level data indicates that about 61% of the wells monitored have registered rise in ground water levels," he said.

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On steps being taken to increase the per capita water availability, the minister said the government was implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission to make provision of tap water supply to every rural household of the country.

Citing latest data, Tudu said out of 19.42 crore rural households, around 11.48 crore or 59.15 per cent households were presently getting tap water supply.

"At the time of announcement of the ,ission, only 3.23 Crore (17 per cent) rural households had tap water supply. Since the launch of the mission, more than 8.25 crore have been provided with tap water connection," he said.

For water availability and conservation, the minister said 2,996 water supply projects worth Rs 87,896 crore have been approved by apex committee of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.