Groundwater Management and Assessment
Committee and Report Overview
The Ground Water Department and the State-level committee on Groundwater Resource Assessment (GWRA) emphasize the need for enhancing groundwater recharge, improving testing methods, and increasing public awareness. Banning crops is not seen as a solution to groundwater issues.
- Secretary (Irrigation & Command Area Development): E. Sridhar leads the committee.
- The 2025 GWRA report suggests discouraging the paddy crop in the Rabi season due to dry spells and declining groundwater.
Groundwater Usage Statistics
- Agricultural Use: 90% of the groundwater.
- Domestic Use: 6%.
- Industrial Use: 4%.
Mandals’ Classification and Change
- Reduction in over-exploited mandals from 31 to 23.
- 25 mandals moved to semi-critical, and 5 to critical categories.
- 16% increase in extraction wells noted.
- 24% of mandals need policy intervention.
Suggested Initiatives
- Village-level conservation by area-focused groundwater measurement.
- Ban on water-intensive crops like paddy during Rabi using borewells.
- Penalizing farmers growing paddy with borewells by removing government incentives.
- Encouraging crop change to maintain groundwater levels.
Comments by Mr. Sridhar
Mr. Sridhar highlights agriculture as a priority, noting the importance of water management despite high extraction costs. Citing the Mahatma Gandhi Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme, he underscores the strategic choice to prioritize agriculture.
Future Plans
- Initiation of GWRA for 2026 with data collection starting in May.
- Approval scheduled for August in the second committee meeting.
