Groundwater becoming Unsafe?
For millions of Indian families living in rural and urban areas, groundwater serves as a decentralised source of drinking water. However, this resource is not safe now. According to various studies, an increasing number of aquifers are reaching unsustainable levels of exploitation. According to Deep Wells and Prudence, a World Bank report, if the current trend of exploitation continues, 60 per cent of all India’s aquifers will be in a critical condition in the next 20 years. According to Central Ground Water Board 2020 data, the block-wise groundwater resource assessment in India shows that out of the 6965 blocks, the state of groundwater is safe in 4427, over-exploited in 1114, critical in 270, semicritical in 1057, and saline in 97 blocks. While the overall picture does not seem scary for now, there is a rising concern for states and UTs like Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu where the status of groundwater in most of the blocks is over-exploited.