Examine the factors responsible for depleting groundwater in India. What are the steps taken by the government to mitigate such depletion of groundwater? (Answer in 250 words)

Introduction

Groundwater is India’s critical buffer for irrigation and drinking water, but extraction increasingly exceeds natural and managed recharge.

Factors behind depletion

• Water-intensive crops, subsidised electricity and fragmented irrigation decisions encourage over-pumping.
• Urbanisation, concretisation and wetland loss reduce infiltration; industries and cities add demand.
• Rainfall variability, drought, climate change and declining surface-water reliability increase dependence on aquifers.
• Unregulated private wells, weak metering, poor data and common-pool incentives hinder sustainable use.

Measures

• Atal Bhujal Yojana promotes community-led aquifer planning, water budgets and demand management.
• National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme improves hydrogeological data and local plans.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan, watershed development, check dams, recharge structures and rainwater harvesting enhance recharge.
• Micro-irrigation, crop diversification, treated wastewater reuse and efficient urban-water management reduce demand.
• Groundwater legislation, state advisories and electricity reforms seek regulation, though implementation remains uneven.

Way forward

Shift from well-by-well licensing to aquifer governance, align crop and power policy with water budgets, and empower local institutions with reliable data.

Keywords: aquifer, recharge, common-pool resource, Atal Bhujal, water budgeting, micro-irrigation.