Around 33% of wells registered groundwater decline of up to 2 metres, says MoS

Decline of more than 4 metres observed in Delhi, Chennai, Allahabad, Kanpur and Lucknow, Bishweshwer Tudu said in the Rajya Sabha

The Winter Session of Parliament is currently under way. Credit: PTI Photo

About 33 per cent of wells registered a decline in groundwater levels in the range of 0 to 2 metres, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said on Monday, noting that a decline of more than four metres has also been observed in a few cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Allahabad, Kanpur and Lucknow.

Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweshwar Tudu said the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring the groundwater levels throughout the country, including Metro cities, on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells.

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"In order to assess the decline in water level on a long-term basis, the water level data collected by CGWB during November 2020 has been compared with the decadal average (2010-2019)," he said in a written response.

The minister further said the analysis of water level data indicated that about 33 per cent of the wells monitored have registered decline in groundwater levels in the range of 0–2 metres.

"Decline of more than 4 metres has also been observed in a few pockets of Delhi, Chennai, Indore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Vijayawada, Dehradun, Jaipur, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and Lucknow," he added.

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