Parliament Question: Improvement in Groundwater Levels

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3097 ANSWERED ON 06.08.2026 IMPROVEMENT IN GROUNDWATER LEVELS †3097. Shri VIVEK THAKUR:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether any improvement has been recorded in the groundwater levels across the identified development blocks in the country, particularly in Nawada and Sheikhpura districts; and

(b) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) & (b) Dynamic Ground Water Resources of the country, including Nawada and Sheikhpura districts of Bihar are assessed annually by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) jointly with the concerned State Governments/UT Administrations. The assessment estimates the Annual Ground Water Recharge, Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource, Annual Ground Water Extraction and the Stage of Ground Water Extraction at the assessment-unit level (Block/Mandal/Taluk/Tehsil/District, as applicable), based on which the assessment units are categorised as Safe, Semi-Critical, Critical or Over- exploited.

A comparison of the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessments of 2020 and 2025 indicates an overall improvement in the groundwater resource of the country. During this period, total Annual Ground Water Recharge increased from 436.15 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) to 448.52 BCM, while the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource increased from 397.62 BCM to 407.75 BCM.

1The total Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses increased marginally from

244.92 BCM to 247.22 BCM. Consequently, the Stage of Ground Water Extraction declined from 61.60 per cent in 2020 to 60.63 per cent in 2025. Further, the proportion of assessment units categorised as Safe increased from 63.56 per cent in 2020 to 73.14 per cent in 2025, while the proportion of Over-exploited assessment units declined from 16 per cent to 10.80 per cent,indicating an overall improvement in groundwater availability across the country.

A comparison of the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessments of 2020 and 2025 indicates an improvement in the overall groundwater-resource position of Nawada district. During this period, the Annual Ground Water Recharge increased from 618.91 Million Cubic Metres (MCM) to 730.94 MCM, while the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource increased from 558.85 MCM to 659.61 MCM. Although the Annual Ground Water Extraction increased marginally from 315.21 MCM to 328.46 MCM, the Stage of Ground Water Extraction declined from 56.40 per cent to 49.80 per cent. Consequently, the overall Stage of Ground Water Extraction remained well below 70 per cent and the district continued to remain in the Safe category. As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, out of the 14 assessment units in the district, 10 are categorised as Safe, 2 as Semi-Critical and 2 as Critical with no Over-exploited assessment units.

In Sheikhpura district, the Annual Ground Water Recharge increased from

182.14 MCM in 2020 to 187.04 MCM in 2025, while the Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource increased from 163.93 MCM to 169.73 MCM. However, the Annual Ground Water Extraction also increased from 87.53 MCM to 99.85 MCM, resulting in the Stage of Ground Water Extraction increasing from 53.40 per cent to 58.83 per cent. Nevertheless, the overall Stage of Ground Water Extraction remained below 70 per cent and the district continued to remain in the Safe category. As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, five out of the six assessment units in the district are categorised as Safe and one as Critical with no Semi-Critical or Over-exploited assessment units.

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