Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Groundwater and Society in India: Challenging Issues and Adaptive Strategies

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Groundwater and Society

  • 220 Accesses

Abstract

The scarcity of freshwater is escalating higher than the predicted level in India alongside the other countries in the world. The surface, subsurface and groundwater resources are gradually reducing in quantity and quality concern. The states and union territories of the western, southern and central India are already severely suffering from the scarcity of freshwater. Rate of groundwater extraction accelerated after the implementation of the green revolution and urban-industrial development. The river’s natural flow has been diverted and protected for socio-economic development. Therefore, the lower riparian states are deadly affected by ecological and hydro-geomorphological perspectives. The fisheries have been widely adopted in those areas as an alternative to traditional crop cultivation, which extract more groundwater for freshwater supply and enhance the rate of groundwater depletion. Moreover, the rainwater recharge into the soil layer as well as in the groundwater table has been gradually reducing due to concretized urban infrastructural development. The surface runoff becomes accelerated, enhancing the soil erosion rate. In India, about 75% of total water bodies have been polluted from domestic wastes. Besides, about 80% of rural people are compelled to use unsafe water, which resulted in the death of more than 700 children per year from diarrhoea. In this situation, India achieves the third place in the world in terms of water export. In such juxtaposition condition, about 60% and 85% of irrigation water and drinking water supply came from the groundwater, respectively. Recently, over 60% of tube wells are malfunctioning due to excessive rate of groundwater depletion. The su ffering of the people is tremendously increasing concerning the availability of drinking water and irrigation water. People are extracting groundwater from the far depth to overcome the crop failure and drinking water problem. But, the severity of water scarcity becomes enhancing year after year in conjunction with global warming and climate change. In this concern, the government has taken different water scarcity preventive measures in individual household level to the regional level. Now, the main motto is to execute the 3-R concept (recycle, reuse and recharge) in association with the other various techniques of water storage (like rainwater harvesting) and groundwater recharge (like percolation tank, recharge tube well). In addition, awareness programmes are being campaigned from the grass-root level to increase the efficiency in water utilization among the people.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adhikary, P.P.,Chandrasekharan, H., Trivedi, S.M., Dash, C.J. (2015). GIS applicability to assess spatio-temporal variation of groundwater quality and sustainable use for irrigation, Arabian Journal of Geosciences 8 (5), 2699-2711.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arfanuzzaman, M., & Syed, M. A. (2018). Water demand and ecosystem nexus in the transboundary river basin: a zero-sum game. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 20(2), 963-974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. (2012). The march of the mega-city: Governance in West Bengal and the wetlands to the east of Kolkata. South Asia Chronicle, 2, 93-118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu, S., Mohanty, S., & Sanyal, P. (2020). Possible role of warming on Indian summer monsoon precipitation over the north-central Indian subcontinent. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 65(4), 660-670.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Behera, A. K., Chakrapani, G. J., Kumar, S., & Rai, N. (2019). Identification of seawater intrusion signatures through geochemical evolution of groundwater: a case study based on coastal region of the Mahanadi delta, Bay of Bengal, India. Natural Hazards, 97(3), 1209-1230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya, A. K. (2010). Artificial ground water recharge with a special reference to India. International Journal of Recent Research and Applied Studies, 4(2), 214-221.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharyya, K. (2011). The Lower Damodar River, India: understanding the human role in changing fluvial environment. Springer Science & Business Media.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bindra, P. S. (2017). The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis. Penguin Random House India.

    Google Scholar 

  • CGWB (2007). Manual on artificial recharge of groundwater. Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, p. 198.

    Google Scholar 

  • CGWB (2018). Ground Water Year Book - India 2017-2018. Central Ground Water Board Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India, Faridabad, p. 104.

    Google Scholar 

  • CGWB (2020). ‘Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India’. Central Ground Water Board Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India. http://cgwb.gov.in/Dynamic-GW-Resources.html [Accessed on 15 September 2020].

    Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty, B., & Das, S. (2014). MGNREGA and water management: sustainability issues of built forms in Rural India. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 19(2), 33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chennamaneni, R., & Rao, S. (2007). Assessment of Urban Carrying Capacity. A Case Study of Environmental and Institutional Implications for Water Resource Management in Hyderabad. Dept. of Resource Economics Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Humboldt- University of Berlin, Germany. Research Report 8, p. 45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudhury, N. B., Mazumder, M. K., Chakravarty, H., Choudhury, A. S., Boro, F., & Choudhury, I. B. (2019). The endangered Ganges river dolphin heads towards local extinction in the Barak river system of Assam, India: A plea for conservation. Mammalian Biology, 95(1), 102-111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colvin, S. A., Sullivan, S. M. P., Shirey, P. D., Colvin, R. W., Winemiller, K. O., Hughes, R. M., ... & Danehy, R. J. (2019). Headwater streams and wetlands are critical for sustaining fish, fisheries, and ecosystem services. Fisheries, 44(2), 73-91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CPCB (2015).Inventorization of sewage treatment plants. Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India) Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixit, Y., Hodell, D. A., Giesche, A., Tandon, S. K., Gázquez, F., Saini, H. S., ... & Petrie, C. A. (2018). Intensified summer monsoon and the urbanization of Indus Civilization in northwest India. Scientific reports, 8(1), 1-8.

    Google Scholar 

  • DownToEarth (2019a). ‘Environment ministry’s 50-year plan to tackle water crisis’. DownToEarth, 08 August 2019. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/video/water/environment-ministry-s-50-year-plan-to-tackle-water-crisis-66095 [Accessed on 16 September 2020].

  • DownToEarth (2019b). ‘Rainwater harvesting: Catch water where it fall’. DownToEarth, 01 July 2019. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/video/water/catch-where-it-falls-to-fight-drought-and-to-create-employment-65368 [Accessed on 10 September 2020].

  • DownToEarth (2019c). ‘Environment ministry’s 50-year plan to tackle water crisis’. DownToEarth, 08 August 2019. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/video/water/environment-ministry-s-50-year-plan-to-tackle-water-crisis-66095 [Accessed on 10 September 2020].

  • DownToEarth (2020a). ‘Growing a cooperative forest can lead to water conservation and generate livelihood’. DownToEarth, 10 February 2020. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/video/water/every-drop-counts-how-a-cooperative-turned-250-acres-of-dharmapuri-green-69222 [Accessed on 10 September 2020].

  • DownToEarth (2020b). ‘Water & climate emergency: A fluid future’. DownToEarth, 28 May 2020. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/water-climate-emergency-a-fluid-future-69827 [Accessed on 15 September 2020].

  • Enzel, Y., Ely, L. L., Mishra, S., Ramesh, R., Amit, R., Lazar, B., ... & Sandler, A. (1999). High-resolution Holocene environmental changes in the Thar Desert, northwestern India. Science, 284(5411), 125-128.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Esteves, T., Rao, K. V., Sinha, B., Roy, S. S., Rao, B., Jha, S., ... & IK, M. (2013). Agricultural and livelihood vulnerability reduction through the MGNREGA. Economic and Political Weekly, 48(52), 94-103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi, V.P. & Namboodir, N.V. (2009). Groundwater irrigation in India: gains, costs and risks. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, No. 2009-03-08, p. 38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glantz, M. H. (2019). Desertification: environmental degradation in and around arid lands. CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gornall, J., Betts, R., Burke, E., Clark, R., Camp, J., Willett, K., & Wiltshire, A. (2010). Implications of climate change for agricultural productivity in the early twenty-first century. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365(1554), 2973-2989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gowing, J. W., Tuong, T. P., & Hoanh, C. T. (2006). Land and water management in coastal zones: dealing with agriculture–aquaculture–fishery conflicts. In C. T. Hoanh, T. P. Tuong, J. W. Gowing, & B. Hardy (Eds.), Environment and livelihoods in tropical coastal zones: Managing agriculture–fishery–aquaculture conflicts (pp. 1–65). Wallingford: CAB International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grönwall, J., & Danert, K. (2020). Regarding Groundwater and Drinking Water Access through A Human Rights Lens: Self-Supply as A Norm. Water, 12(2), 419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurjar, S. K., & Tare, V. (2019). Spatial-temporal assessment of water quality and assimilative capacity of river Ramganga, a tributary of Ganga using multivariate analysis and QUEL2K. Journal of Cleaner Production, 222, 550-564.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harbor, J. M. (1994). A practical method for estimating the impact of land-use change on surface runoff, groundwater recharge and wetland hydrology. Journal of the American Planning Association, 60(1), 95-108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Jacob, D., Bindi, M., Brown, S., Camilloni, I., Diedhiou, A., ... & Hijioka, Y. (2018). Impacts of 1.5 C global warming on natural and human systems. Global warming of 1.5° C. In: Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P.R. Shukla, … .& T. Waterfield (eds.) Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty, pp. 175–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honsdorf, N., Verhulst, N., Crossa, J., Vargas, M., Govaerts, B., & Ammar, K. (2020). Durum wheat selection under zero tillage increases early vigor and is neutral to yield. Field Crops Research, 248, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2019.107675

  • India Today (2019). ‘World Water Day: 21 Indian cities, including Delhi, will run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people’. India Today (Web Desk), New Delhi, 22 March 2019. https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/world-water-day-2019-water-crisis-india-1483777-2019-03-22 [Accessed on 15 September 2020].

  • Kala, C. P. (2017). Environmental and socioeconomic impacts of drought in India: lessons for drought management. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 5(2), 43-48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulkarni, H., Shankar, P. V., Deolankar, S. B., & Shah, M. (2004). Groundwater demand management at local scale in rural areas of India: a strategy to ensure water well sustainability based on aquifer diffusivity and community participation. Hydrogeology Journal, 12(2), 184-196.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, M. D. (2018). Water Policy Science and Politics: An Indian Perspective. Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, N., & Verma, A. (2020). Inter-basin Water Transfer and Policies of Water Resource Management. In Environmental Concerns and Sustainable Development (pp. 257-274). Springer, Singapore.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, M. (2000). Climatic change-implications for India’s water resources. Journal of Social and Economic Development, 3, 57-87.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahdi, S. S., Hassan, G. I., Samoon, S. A., Rather, H. A., Dar, S. A., & Zehra, B. (2010). Bio-fertilizers in organic agriculture. Journal of phytology. 2(10): 42-54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maheshwari, B., Varua, M., Ward, J., Packham, R., Chinnasamy, P., Dashora, Y., ... & Shah, T. (2014). The role of transdisciplinary approach and community participation in village scale groundwater management: insights from Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. Water, 6(11), 3386-3408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maisels, C. K. (2001). Early civilizations of the old world: the formative histories of Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China. Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mallapur, C. (2016). ‘70% Of Urban India’s Sewage Is Untreated’. The Wire, 27 January 2016. https://archive.indiaspend.com/cover-story/70-of-urban-indias-sewage-is-untreated-54844 [Accessed on 16 September 2020].

  • Mishra, S., Kumar, A., Mishra, S., & Kumar, A. (2020). Estimation of physicochemical characteristics and associated metal contamination risk in the Narmada River, India. Environmental Engineering Research, 26(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Misra, A. K. (2011). Impact of urbanization on the hydrology of Ganga Basin (India). Water resources management, 25(2), 705-719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanakavitha, T., Shankar, K., Divahar, R., Meenambal, T., & Saravanan, R. (2019). Impact of industrial wastewater disposal on surface water bodies in Kalingarayan canal, Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 4(4), 379-387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murtugudde, R. (2017). ‘Pakistan World’s Top Groundwater Exporter, India Ranks Third’. The Wire, 3 May 2017. https://thewire.in/agriculture/pakistan-worlds-top-groundwater-exporter-india-third [Accessed on 15 September 2020].

  • Narain, S. (2006). Community-led alternatives to water management: India case study (No. HDOCPA-2006-10). Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), p. 33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pereira, L. S., Cordery, I., & Iacovides, I. (2009). Coping with water scarcity: Addressing the challenges. Springer Science & Business Media.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pingali, P. L. (2012). Green revolution: impacts, limits, and the path ahead. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(31), 12302-12308.

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Possehl, G. L. (2002). The Indus civilization: a contemporary perspective. Rowman Altamira.

    Google Scholar 

  • Postel, S., & Richter, B. (2012). Rivers for life: managing water for people and nature. Island Press, Lndon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, H. D. (2019). Asia’s shrinking glaciers protect large populations from drought stress. Nature, 569(7758), 649-654.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Qureshi, A. S., McCornick, P. G., Sarwar, A., & Sharma, B. R. (2010). Challenges and prospects of sustainable groundwater management in the Indus Basin, Pakistan. Water resources management, 24(8), 1551-1569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rana, S. S., & Rana, M. C. (2011). Cropping system. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, p. 80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, S. D., & Reynolds, J. M. (2000). An overview of glacial hazards in the Himalayas. Quaternary International, 65, 31-47.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Saha, D. (2019). ‘Government must prioritise on conserving water’. DownToEarth, 24 May 2019. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/water/government-must-prioritise-on-conserving-water-64737 [Accessed on 16 September 2020].

  • Sangomla, A. (2019). ‘Climate change pushed Indus Valley migrants west to east: Study’. DownToEarth, 21 November 2019. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/climate-change-pushed-indus-valley-migrants-west-to-east-study-67862 [Accessed on 15 September 2020].

  • Sarkar, B., & Islam, A. (2020). Drivers of water pollution and evaluating its ecological stress with special reference to macrovertebrates (fish community structure): a case of Churni River, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(1), 45.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sengupta, S. (2020). ‘It rained hard in Delhi; what if all that water did not go waste’. DownToEarth, 21 August 2020. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/it-rained-hard-in-delhi-what-if-all-that-water-did-not-go-waste-72959 [Accessed on 10 September 2020].

  • Shah, T. (2009). Climate change and groundwater: India’s opportunities for mitigation and adaptation. Environmental Research Letters, 4(3), 035005.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, A. (2016). Managing the water resources problems of irrigated agriculture through geospatial techniques: An overview. Agricultural Water Management, 174, 2-10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, A. K., & Jyoti, B. (2019). Measuring the Climate Variability Impact on Cash Crops Farming in India: An Empirical Investigation. Agriculture and Food Sciences Research, 6(2), 155-165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, A. K., Das, B., Mali, S. S., Bhavana, P., Shinde, R., & Bhatt, B. P. (2019). Intensification of rice-fallow cropping systems in the Eastern Plateau region of India: diversifying cropping systems and climate risk mitigation. Climate and Development, 1-10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, A., Thomsen, K. J., Sinha, R., Buylaert, J. P., Carter, A., Mark, D. F., ... & Paul, D. (2017). Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements. Nature Communications, 8(1), 1-14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, G., Bhattacharyya, R., Das, T. K., Sharma, A. R., Ghosh, A., Das, S., & Jha, P. (2018). Crop rotation and residue management effects on soil enzyme activities, glomalin and aggregate stability under zero tillage in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Soil and Tillage Research, 184, 291-300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, R. B. (2000). Environmental consequences of agricultural development: a case study from the Green Revolution state of Haryana, India. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 82(1-3), 97-103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, R. K., Singh, A., Kumar, S., Sheoran, P., Sharma, D. K., Stringer, L. C., ... & Singh, D. (2020). Perceived Climate Variability and Compounding Stressors: Implications for Risks to Livelihoods of Smallholder Indian Farmers. Environmental Management, 1-19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, A., Kathayat, G., Cheng, H., Breitenbach, S. F., Berkelhammer, M., Mudelsee, M., ... & Edwards, R. L. (2015). Trends and oscillations in the Indian summer monsoon rainfall over the last two millennia. Nature communications, 6(1), 1-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sivanappan, R. K. (2006). Rain Water Harvesting, Conservation and Management Strategies for Urban and Rural Sectors. In National Seminar on Rainwater Harvesting and Water Management 11-12 Nov. 2006, Nagpur, pp. 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R. G., Scanlon, B., Döll, P., Rodell, M., Van Beek, R., Wada, Y., ... & Konikow, L. (2013). Ground water and climate change. Nature climate change, 3(4), 322-329.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • The Economic Times (2018). ‘India suffering worst water crisis in history, says Niti report’. The Economic Times, 14 June 2018. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-suffering-worst-water-crisis-in-history-says-niti-report/articleshow/64591891.cms?from=mdr [Accessed on 15 September 2020].

  • Tiwari, R., Somashekhar, H. I., Parama, V. R., Murthy, I. K., Kumar, M. M., Kumar, B. M., ... & Sengupta, A. (2011). MGNREGA for environmental service enhancement and vulnerability reduction: rapid appraisal in Chitradurga district, Karnataka. Economic and political weekly, 46(20), 39-47.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2011). ‘Water Sector in India’. The World Bank, 29 September 2011. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2011/09/29/india-water [Accessed on 14 September 2020].

  • World Bank (2012). ‘India Groundwater: a Valuable but Diminishing Resource’. The World Bank, 06 March 2012. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/03/06/india-groundwater-critical-diminishing [Accessed on 14 September 2020].

Download references

Acknowledgement

The author would like to express his gratitude to Dr. Pravat Kumar Shit, Department of Geography, Raja N. L. Khan Women’s College, for his suggestions in the completion of this book.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Belda College, Belda, Paschim Medinipur, India

    Subrata Jana

Authors
  1. Subrata Jana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. PG Department of Geography, Raja N.L. Khan Women’s College, Autonomous, Midnapore, West Bengal, India

    Pravat Kumar Shit

  2. RANDSTAD India Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Gouri Sankar Bhunia

  3. ICAR Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

    Partha Pratim Adhikary

  4. ICAR Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Koraput, Odisha, India

    Ch. Jyotiprava Dash

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Jana, S. (2021). Groundwater and Society in India: Challenging Issues and Adaptive Strategies. In: Shit, P.K., Bhunia, G.S., Adhikary, P.P., Dash, C.J. (eds) Groundwater and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64136-8_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation