Bengaluru: Five districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru Urban, have worrying groundwater extraction levels of over 100%, even as the state as a whole has seen an improvement when compared to the previous estimation by the Union government.
As per the official data accessed by DH, Kolar (193.35%) leads the districts with overexploitation of groundwater, followed by Bengaluru Urban (186.7%), Chikkaballapura (164.33%), Bengaluru Rural (147.05%) and Chitradurga (144.44%).
If the groundwater extraction exceeds 70%, it is considered ‘semi-critical’ and any figure between 90-100% is considered ‘critical’. Extraction above 100% is deemed ‘overexploited’.
The statewide average is 68.44%.
To address the issue, the Minor Irrigation Department is taking up the ‘Water is Future’ project, the first phase of which will cover 525 gram panchayats (GPs) in 27 taluks of 15 districts marked as “critical” or “overexploited”. Of the 525 GPs, as many as 86 GPs are from the Bengaluru Urban district itself.
Cumulative figures improve
While the data for the five districts are worrying, the cumulative statewide figures have improved. As per the National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2024, conducted by the Union government, Karnataka stands 10th in groundwater extraction. This is an improvement over the previous report, where Karnataka stood
fifth.
Punjab has the highest extraction in the country with 156.87%, followed by Rajasthan (149.86%), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (142.17%). In South India, Pondicherry (75.91%) and Tamil Nadu (74.26%) have higher groundwater exploitation than Karnataka.
Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Minor Irrigation Department Minister N S Boseraju said: “As many as 143 lakes in the KC (Koramangala–Challghatta) valley and 65 lakes in Hebbal–Nagavara (HN) valley have been filled. We have initiated the 2nd and 3rd stages. 50-60% lakes are being filled. We are conducting an evaluation every year. Because of the improvement, within a radius of 25-30km of the lakes, water is available at 250-300 ft instead of 1,300 ft. Because of this, vegetable production has improved by 70%, flowers (80%) and fruits (35%).”
Sources in the Minor Irrigation Department said the department was planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to assess the groundwater levels in 41,489 lakes.
“Ultimately, the department aims to ensure that there is less groundwater extraction and more recharge of water,” the source added.
Boseraju announced that the Neeriddare Nale (Water is Future) initiative will be formally launched by the government on Thursday.
Highlights
Kolar 193.35%
Bengaluru Urban 186.7%
Chikkaballapur 164.33%
Bengaluru Rural 147.05%
Chitradurga 144.44%
K’taka average: 68.44%