India's Water Crisis: 85% Of Rural India Survives On Groundwater, And It's Running Out

Karnataka’s recent decision to let gated communities drill deeper has been emblematic of the discourse surrounding water governance and resource allocation. While it offers immediate respite irrespective of cost, it also raises fundamental questions about the state of water governance and the State's evolving role in managing water resources.

Apart from erratic rainfall, India's groundwater crisis has been necessitated by its unsustainable extraction. Unlike Mumbai and Chennai, which get abundant rainfall, Jaipur, for instance, relies on groundwater excessively, leading to aquifer depletion. Rural areas like Bathinda in Punjab suffer from agricultural overexploitation of groundwater.

Extreme Stress On Aquifers And Groundwater

With some 31 per cent of districts encountering heavy rainfall in 2023 as per IMD data, there has not been much groundwater recharge to combat the oncoming summer in areas that survive on groundwater alone. That is because the increase in rainfall is far outpaced by the rise in groundwater consumption.

Despite a slight increase in rainfall over the past four decades, groundwater levels in India continue to decline. This is because the consumption of groundwater far exceeds replenishment from rainfall. Secondly, construction on catchment areas and ground surfaces, once available for groundwater recharge, has cut the natural process of replenishment.

India's groundwater levels in March plummeted to their lowest in recent years, signalling a troubling trend. A UN study predicts India will hit an all-time low in groundwater levels by 2025. Reservoirs are working at 35 per cent capacity; the figure drops further to 16 per cent in states such as Karnataka; Chennai has almost run out of water. How can a city that has abundant rainfall run out of water?

India is the world's top consumer of groundwater. It consumes more groundwater than the United States and China combined.

The latest groundwater assessment, conducted in 2022, reveals that out of 7,089 assessment units across the country, 14 per cent are classified as 'Over-Exploited', indicating excessive extraction surpassing replenishment. About 4 per cent are labelled 'Critical' and 12 per cent 'Semi-Critical', while 67 per cent are deemed 'Safe'.

The assessment, however, notes improvements since 2020, with increased recharge observed in Bihar, Telangana, and Gujarat. Despite a slight decrease in groundwater extraction, challenges persist. There is a need for continued monitoring and sustainable management practices to safeguard water resources for future generations.

Examining the 2022 assessment map reveals that groundwater is available within 2 metres in less than 2 per cent of India’s total geographic area.

Water is found between 2 to 5 metres below ground level primarily in coastal regions, where salinity often renders it unsuitable for use. Inland and in the northwestern regions, groundwater levels plummet to depths exceeding 40 metres, rendering it nearly inaccessible or difficult to extract.

In India, over-exploited assessment units are primarily concentrated in three distinct regions. Firstly, in the northwestern part of the country, encompassing Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Western Uttar Pradesh, excessive withdrawals have led to over-exploitation despite the presence of ample replenishable resources. 

Secondly, the western region, particularly in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, faces stress due to limited groundwater recharge stemming from arid conditions. And lastly, peninsular India, including parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, experiences low groundwater availability influenced by the characteristics of crystalline aquifers.

These regional variations underscore the complex interplay of geographical, climatic, and hydrological factors contributing to groundwater stress in different states.

Groundwater expert Veena Srinivasan at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment sees India's escalating water crisis as a major driver of mass migration to urban areas, often overlooked but critically impactful.

Approximately 700 million rural Indians rely on groundwater for daily needs, with 85 per cent of rural households dependent on it, compared to 45 per cent in cities.

Srinivasan warns of the situation worsening post-COVID-19, leading to job losses in cities and subsequent rural migration, posing significant challenges for livelihoods and food security.

The Interconnected Causal Factors

A Niti Aayog study in 2019 warned that India was edging closer to the water scarcity threshold, with the current volume of water available at 1,140 cubic metres per capita per year, just shy of the critical threshold of 1,000 cubic metres.

This looming crisis could lead to a 6 per cent decrease in India's GDP by 2050. The same study cited a report by McKinsey and Water Resources Group (WRG), projecting India's water demand will be two times its capacity to supply by 2030.

Diminishing catchment areas in cities will result in reduced water recharge, exacerbated by rampant and unplanned construction in catchment areas. According to the CPCB 2021 report, the rate of groundwater recharge significantly lags extraction. Extraction rates exceed recharge by almost three to four times.

Over the past 50 years, to combat rainfall scarcity, India has allowed an almost 'free for all' framework, enabling unrestricted borewell activities and providing electricity subsidies, particularly in the agricultural sector. Consequently, this led to a substantial drop in groundwater levels by approximately four metres in various parts of the country.

The prospect of increased rainfall, coupled with its unpredictability and inadequate groundwater recharge, challenges not only general human life standards but also food security.

Where Do We Go From Here

The Groundwater Recharge Bill 2017 is one of the most comprehensive legislations proposed to protect India's aquifers, but it has yet to be enacted. The bill, if it becomes a law, aims to mandate proper recharge systems in rural and urban areas.

It also proposes schemes for groundwater recharge that support and subsidise these systems. It includes mapping aquifers and setting a demand-supply ratio for each. This should be fast-tracked, given how jarring the situation is.

Secondly, unplanned urbanisation in India compounds the water crisis for several reasons. Cities are extensively concretised, hindering the natural recharge of groundwater as catchment areas are deprived of permeable surfaces.

Many cities lack separate stormwater and sewage systems, leading to contamination of rainwater with sewage and resulting in overflow and flooding. Moreover, inadequate stormwater infrastructure and the absence of systematic groundwater recharge mechanisms render much of the water unusable and worsen water scarcity in urban areas.

Thirdly, the transition from five-year plans has skewed India's planning priorities toward urban development, neglecting rural sectors, notably agriculture and resource management.

Maharashtra, Punjab, and regions impacted by the Narmada movement exemplify the repercussions of uneven resource allocation, worsening the water crisis and forcing farmers to escalate groundwater extraction or forgo crops entirely.

Prioritising equitable resource distribution between urban and rural domains is imperative, with a focus on safeguarding agriculture as a primary objective.

The water crisis in India encompasses a complex interplay of class, geography, seasonality, and socio-economic factors, shaping its multifaceted outcomes.

Given that groundwater is a critical water source that keeps India's granaries ticking, policymakers need to act on a cogent policy and law, if need be, to ensure the country's food security isn't at stake.