Environment › Pollution
Groundwater and water conservation
Groundwater and water conservation: how the water drawn is measured against what is recharged, the regulation of extraction, recharge and rainwater harvesting, and water policy. Prelims has asked about the Central Ground Water Authority and which body was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
UPSC has asked
- Prelims 2022: the body constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
- Prelims 2020: the Central Ground Water Authority and groundwater irrigation
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Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari
Copy link to Jal Sanchay Jan BhagidariPrelims and Mains
Where a unit is drawing more than it recharges, the cheapest response is to lead rainwater back underground, and that is work a village can do for itself. Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari pays for it and leaves the structure with the community that built it.
- Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB), launched in September 2024, builds low cost artificial recharge structures with the community as their owner, guided by the 3Cs of Community, Corporate Social Responsibility and Cost.
- It merged with Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain in June 2026.
- More than 1.58 crore recharge structures had been built in its first two years.
- Structure counts measure effort rather than outcome, so aquifer levels and demand side measures are the test of it.
Chhattisgarh, Korea district
- Aawa Paani Jhoki: farmers gave 5% of their land to recharge ponds and pits
- Groundwater up 3 to 4 metres in many villages
Andhra Pradesh, Prakasam district
- Ridge to valley: treating rainwater from the higher ridges down to the valley
- Water budgeting and crop planning
Odisha
- CHHATA (Community Harnessing and Harvesting of Rainwater Artificially from Terrace to Aquifer): rooftop rainwater harvesting
- ARUA (Artificial Recharge to Underground Aquifer): recharge from ponds and water bodies