• Dr. Ajeet Kumar

India’s rechargeable annual groundwater potential has been assessed at around 431 BCM in aggregate terms. On an all India basis it is estimated that about 30 per cent of the groundwater potential has been tapped for irrigation and domestic use. The regional situation is very much different and large parts of India have already exploited almost all of their dynamic recharge. Haryana and Punjab have exploited about 94 per cent of their groundwater resources. Areas with depleting groundwater tables are found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, most of western Uttar Pradesh and in all of the Deccan states. Occurrence of water availability at about 1000 cubic meters per capita per annum is a commonly threshold for water indicating scarcity (UNDP). Investment to capture additional surface run-off will become increasingly more difficult and expensive in the future. Over time, both for surface and groundwater resources, a situation where resources were substantially under utilised and where considerable development potential existed, has transformed in little more than a generation to a situation of water scarcity and limited development options. India faces an increasingly urgent situation : its finite and fragile water resources are stressed and depleting while various sectoral demands are growing rapidly. Historically relatively plentiful water resources have been primarily for irrigated agriculture, but with the growth of Indian economy and industrial activities water demands share of water is changing rapidly. In addition increase in population and rapid urbanisation also put an additional demand on water resources. Summing up the various sectoral projection reveals a total annual demand for water increasing from 552 billion cubic meter (BCM) in 1997 to 1050 BCM by 2025.

Ground Water, Resource, Precipitation, Surface Water, Agriculture, Irrigat

"Ground Water Resource Its Appraisal, Conservation and Planning : A Case Study of West Champaran District ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.31-42, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906R42.pdf

"Ground Water Resource Its Appraisal, Conservation and Planning : A Case Study of West Champaran District ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp31-42, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906R42.pdf