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MEMBERS REFERENCE SERVICE LARRDIS

LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI

REFERENCE NOTE

For the use of Members of Parliament NOT FOR PUBLICATION

No. 04/RN/Ref./January/2020

For the use of Members of Parliament Not for Publication

ATAL BHUJAL YOJANA

Prepared by Shri C.V. Sai Ram, Junior Library Assistant and Dr. Amar Kumar Prusty, Joint Director (23034992) of Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Dr. Vatsala Joshi, Director and Shri R.C. Tiwari, Joint Secretary.

The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources indicated at the end/in the context.

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Atal Bhujal Yojana Introduction accounts for about 2.45 per cent of world’s surface area, 4 per cent of the world’s water resources and about 16 per cent of world’s population. The total water available from precipitation in the country in a year is about 4,000 cubic km. The availability from surface water and replenishable groundwater is 1,869 cubic km. Out of this, only 60 per cent can be put to beneficial uses. Thus, the total utilisable water resource in the country is only 1,122 cubic km. India being home to more than 1.3 billion people, ground water has, thus become the major source of water to meet the requirements of domestic, industrial and irrigation sectors in India in the last few decades on account of its ubiquitous occurrence, easy availability and reliability. Add to this, the increasing population, urbanization and non-uniform extraction have accelerated depletion of ground water resources. This quality has led to its indiscriminate exploitation in some parts of the country without due regard to recharging options, resulting in considerable depletion of the ground water table in some areas, and thereby causing concerns for the long-term sustainability of groundwater. There is an urgent need for augmentation of the limited ground water resources by taking appropriate measures.

Ground Water in India The water that is present beneath the surface of the earth in soil pore spaces and the fractures of rock formation is known as Ground Water. It is used for drinking purposes. The largest use for ground water is to irrigate the crops. India has extensive groundwater resources, estimated at 30-40 per cent of its annual utilizable renewable water resources. The last few decades have seen exponential growth in the groundwater through the construction of millions of private wells. Between 1950 and 2010, the number of drilled tube wells increased from 1 million to nearly 30 million. This allowed the area irrigated by groundwater to increase from approximately 3 million ha to more than 35 million ha. Groundwater currently provides approximately

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60 per cent of irrigation water and over 80 per cent of the rural drinking water supply. Approximately 2532 billion m3 of groundwater is abstracted in India each year. This represents 25 per cent of global groundwater withdrawals and makes India the world's largest user of groundwater.1 The annual replenishable ground water resource of the country is being estimated jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and State Governments at periodical intervals. As per the 2017 latest assessment, the total annual ground water recharge has been estimated as 432bcm. Keeping an allocation for natural discharge, the annual extractable ground water resource is 393bcm. The total current annual ground water extraction (as in March, 2017) is 249bcm. The average stage of ground water extraction for the country as a whole works out to be about 63per cent. The extraction of ground water for various uses in different parts of the country is not uniform. Out of the total 6,881 assessment units (Blocks/ Mandals/ Talukas/ Firkas) in the country, 1,186 units in various States (17%) have been categorized as ‘Over-Exploited’, indicating ground water extraction exceeding the annually replenishable ground water recharge. In these areas the percentage of ground water extraction is more than 100 per cent. In addition, 313 units (5%) are ‘Critical’, where the stage of ground water extraction is between 90-100 per cent. There are 972 semi- critical units (14%), where the stage of ground water extraction is between 70 per cent and 90 per cent, and 4,310 assessment units (63%) have been categorized as ‘Safe‘ where the stage of Ground water extraction is less than 70 per cent. Apart from this, there are 100 assessment units (1%), which have been categorized, as ‘Saline’ as major part of the ground water in phreatic aquifers is brackish or saline.2 Keeping in mind the alarming level of ground water in India, and the need for ensuring the long term sustainability of ground water resources in the country, the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, has designed the scheme, Atal Bhujal Yojana, with the principal

1 Atal Bhujal Yojana, World Bank Report, May, 2018, pp.1-2. 2 Dynamic Ground Water resources of India, 2017, pp.iv-v.

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objective of strengthening the institutional framework for participatory ground water management and bringing about behavioural changes at the community level for sustainable ground water resource management.

Atal Bhujal Yojana Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) aims at improving ground water management through community participation in identified priority areas in seven States, viz. , , , , , and . Implementation of the scheme is expected to benefit nearly 8,350 Gram Panchayats in 78 districts in these States. ATAL JAL will promote panchayat led ground water management and behavioural change with primary focus on demand side management. ATAL JAL, a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs.6,000 crore is to be implemented over a period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25). Out of the total outlay of Rs. 6,000 crore, 50 per cent shall be in the form of World Bank loan, and has to be repaid by the Central Government. The remaining 50 per cent shall be through Central Assistance from regular budgetary support. The entire World Bank's loan component and Central Assistance shall be passed on to the States as Grants.

Major Components of the ATAL JAL ATAL JAL has two major components: A. Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Component is for strengthening institutional arrangements for sustainable ground water management in the States, including improving monitoring networks, capacity building, strengthening of Water User Associations, etc. B. Incentive Component is for incentivising the States for achievements in improved groundwater management practices namely, data dissemination, reparation of water security plans, implementation of management interventions through convergence of ongoing schemes, adopting demand side management practices, etc.

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ATAL JAL will result in: i. Institutional strengthening for improving ground water monitoring networks and capacity building of stakeholders at different levels which will enhance ground water data storage, exchange, analysis and dissemination. ii. Improved and realistic water budgeting based on an improved database and preparation of community-led Water Security Plans at Panchayat level. iii. Implementation of Water Security Plans through convergence of various ongoing/new schemes of the Government of India and State Governments to facilitate judicious and effective utilization of funds for sustainable ground water management. iv. Efficient use of available ground water resources with emphasis on demand side measures such as micro-irrigation, crop diversification, electricity feeder separation, etc. Impact of the ATAL JAL a. Source sustainability for Jal Jeevan Mission3 in the project area with active participation of local communities; b. Will contribute towards the goal of doubling the farmers' income; c. Will promote participatory ground water management; d. Improved water use efficiency on a mass scale and improved cropping pattern; and e. Promotion of efficient and equitable use of ground water resources and behavioural change at the community level.

Sources 1. PIB press release dated 24 December, 2019. https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=196080 2. PIB press release dated 05 July, 2019. https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=191304 3. World Bank report on Atal Bhujal Yojana, May 2018. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/697581528428694246/pdf/India-PAD-126071- IN-05162018.pdf 4. National compilation on Dynamic Ground Water resources on India 2017, July 2019, CGWB. http://cgwb.gov.in/GW-Assessment/GWRA-2017-National-Compilation.pdf

3 Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure HarGharJal (piped water supply) to all rural households by 2024.