Urban Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Judicial Interventions

February 20, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Underconstruction overhead water tank along Bindal river in Dehradun. B. S. Rawat/SANDRP/May 2024)

This annual overview includes the top ten reports from 2024 on judicial interventions regarding groundwater in urban India. The overview shows that the judicial bodies, particularly the NGT, have been dealing with various cases concerning the violations of groundwater extraction norms, including permission, use of treated sewage and rainwater harvesting by residential projects, and groundwater pollution by landfill sites and industrial waste across the country.

The overview of the court proceedings broadly suggest that the concerned governing bodies have been showing casual approach when it comes to ensuring the compliance to norms and improve governance, thus failing to stop the depletion & contamination of GW in Urban India.

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Urban Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Government Actions

February 19, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A tubewell installed under JJM scheme along dried up Tons river bank in Sahaspur, Dehradun. B. S. Rawat/SANDRP/May 2024)

This annual overview covers relevant media reports from ten cities, highlighting the groundwater management and recharge efforts made by the governments during 2024. The earlier overviews on the subject of Groundwater in India have focused on important studies done in 2024, general scenario on groundwater contamination & depletion, relevant government actions, significant judicial intervention and groundwater issues in urban India.

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Groundwater 2024: Urban Issues

February 18, 2025February 20, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Children extracting groundwater from a handpump in Dehradun. B. S. Rawat/SANDRP/May 2024)

This overview complies top ten reports from 2024 to highlight the growing concerns over groundwater depletion and contamination in various Indian cities. Though several cities in India are already being supplied surface water from dams and rivers, groundwater use is increasing to meet significant portion of potable water demand. The unabated unplanned urbanization on one side has been damaging the groundwater recharge functions, sources and on the other putting more pressure on surface and underground water resources. At the same time the cities have been failing to adequately treat wastewater and harvest rainwater. The situation is only deteriorating fast in absence of a National Urban Water Policy.

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Groundwater 2024: Top Ten stories on how Depletion continues alarmingly

February 18, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A villager is taking his cattle through the bone-dry Nimi River, a tributary of Tons in Dehradun after feeding it water from a syntex tank placed in riverbed. The tank is filled with groundwater by a submersible installed on the bank of the river. B. S. Rawat/SANDRP/May 2024)

Like growing contamination of groundwater in India, its depletion is also increasing at alarming level as shows the top ten relevant reports from 2024 which we are able to compile in this third annual overview on the subject. At central level two reports on Atal Bhujal Yojna highlight that funds allocated for the flagship scheme have been grossly underutilized and the scheme is focusing more on meeting the deadlines and facing challenges in large scale community mobilization. The CGWB’s 2023 report published in June 2024 shows that the situation is worsening contradicting MoJS claim that the groundwater depletion situation is improving. About 87% of total groundwater extraction is used in farming.

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Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Judicial Decisions

February 15, 2025February 18, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A water conservation message painted on a wall in Dehradun. BS Rawat/SANDRP, May 2024)

This fifth part of annual groundwater overview covers top ten judicial interventions regarding groundwater in India in 2024. The first part of the overview compiles important groundwater studies published in 2024. The second part and third part have compiled the reports revealing rising contamination and depletion of groundwater resources in India. The fourth part has focused the top ten relevant decisions taken by various governments regarding management and conservation of the finite natural resource in the country.

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Groundwater 2024: Top ten Actions by Governments

February 14, 2025February 18, 2025 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: A water conservation message painted on a wall in Dehradun. BS Rawat/SANDRP, May 2024)

The fourth part of annual overview covers the top ten actions taken by central and various state governments regarding conservation and recharge of groundwater India in 2024. The 1^st part of the yearend round documents important studies and the 2^nd part and 3rd part highlights reports on the proverbial toxic-berg, rising contamination and depletion of groundwater quality in India. The fifth part covers top ten judicial interventions dealing with groundwater issues during 2024.

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Groundwater 2024: Increasing Contamination: Tip of a Toxic-berg?

January 30, 2025January 30, 2025 SANDRP1 Comment

(Feature Image: Drain No 6 in Kundli, Sonipat filled with industrial effluents. BS Rawat/ SANDRP/ May 2023)

This annual overview compiles the top ten reports showing the rising contamination of groundwater resources in India during 2024. It includes some shocking facts from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Telangana, Kerala, Ladakh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and W Bengal, in addition to reports from CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) a Parliamentary Committee. The contaminants reported in groundwater include nitrates, fluorides, arsenic, uranium, heavy metals (Chromium, cadmium, nickel, manganese, selenium, among others), Iron, salinity, among others. Since most people consume groundwater assuming it to be safe, what is reported here is only a tip of the proverbial toxic-berg. The easiest way forward, besides more regular monitoring and improved governance is rainwater harvesting on war footing. However, the government, busy pushing more big dams and interlinking projects, has little real priority for that.

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GW Overview 2023: Top Ten Judicial Actions

January 19, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Filled with untreated industrial effluents Drain No. 6 in May 2023, passing through Kundli industrial area in Sonipat and causing groundwater pollution along its course. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

This third and concluding 2023 yearend overview on Groundwater in India, compiles top ten judicial interventions dealing with the depletion and contamination of groundwater. The SC asking Punjab govt to review groundwater conservation law in the face of air pollution crisis in Delhi is the biggest judicial development of 2023. The Kerala HC directing state govt to bring selling of well water under Food Safety & Standards Act 2006 & Regulation 2011 comes next.

The NGT too on its part has taken note for groundwater depletion and contimination across the country and issued notices to central and state governments. Following NGT orders, there have been action against commercial and industrial units extracting groundwater without permission in Delhi and NCR areas. In another ongoing noteworthy case, the NGT has asked MoJS consider prohibiting groundwater use for cricket ground maintenance.

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GW Overview 2023: Top ten Govt actions

January 18, 2024January 23, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Drona Sagar Taal in Kashipur, Uttarakhand being filled with tubewell water in April 2023. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

This second part of yearend overview on Groundwater issues in India lists top ten Government actions. While the groundwater has become backbone for all types of consumption including domestic water supply, irrigation, industrial use; depletion of the finite resource continue; the government efforts particularly of central government have been limited to mapping and monitoring. There is neither a recognition that groundwater is India’s water lifeline, nor is there any serious attempt at effective bottom up, decentralised regulation of groundwater.

The aquifer mapping scheme ongoing since 2012 has been extended till March 2026. The govt has planned to increase the number of monitoring wells and equipped them with digital sensors. Meanwhile the Parliament panel report has revealed that the National Water Mission (NWM) lacks adequate funds and autonomy. Several state governments have taken respective measures for protection of groundwater sources however they have largely shown no noteworthy results so far.

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India Groundwater 2023: Reaching Depletion Tipping Point?

January 16, 2024January 23, 2024 SANDRPLeave a comment

Like previous years, 2023 too has not seen any significant governmental decisions addressing the two key problems of ongoing contamination and depletion of groundwater resources across the country. On the contrary, the new reports and studies published during the year indicate some areas reaching depletion tipping points, land subsidence and climate change impacts compounding the situation.

This first part of yearend overview through top ten developments highlights the status of existing and emerging problems related to groundwater in India. The second and third parts will focus on government and judicial actions related to the subject during 2023.

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