Ground water: 71 over-exploited, 15 critical blocks in Har

There are 71 'over-exploited' and 15 'critical' blocks in Haryana as per the assessment by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), Haryana Agriculture Minister O P Dhankar told the Assembly here today.

He said 3.67 lakh hectare of land in the state is affected by the problem of soil salinity and waterlogging.

Replying to a calling attention motion by Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhary and Lalit Nagar on ground water issue, on the last day of the budget session here, Dhankar said the CGWA, New Delhi has notified 21 blocks to regulate groundwater development in the state.

The minister said, "Presently there are 71 over-exploited, 15 critical, seven semi-critical and 23 safe blocks in the state."
 

Ground water assessment in the Haryana is done by the Central Ground Water Board, Chandigarh in association with Ground Water Cell, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Haryana.

Of around 3.67 lakh hectare affected by soil salinity and waterlogging, 52,067 hectare is under critical condition, Dhankar informed the House.

The most affected areas fall in districts Rohtak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Sonepat, followed by Hisar, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Palwal, the minister said.

He said in case ground water in a village or city is found non-potable, tubewell is established in nearby village or city where ground water is potable and pumped to affected village or city.

If sustainable ground water source is not available in nearby area then alternate source such as canal water supply is introduced.

Water supplied for drinking purpose in urban areas of Haryana through canal is 402.91 Million Litres per Day (MLD) and 495.34 MLD from tubewell (ground water), he said, adding water supplied for drinking purpose in rural areas through canals is 572.05 MLD and 564.13 MLD from tubewells.

In rural area the most affected districts namely Hisar, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Mahendragarh and Sonepat are mainly covered through canal water supply, Dhankar said.