Govt report expresses concern over groundwater exploitation in MP

Indiscriminate exploitation of ground water in Madhya Pradesh is threatening supply to the state’s rural areas and is even leading to salinity in inland aquifers, a government report has said.

Updated on: Sep 16, 2014, 19:43:22 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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Indiscriminate exploitation of ground water in Madhya Pradesh is threatening supply to the state’s rural areas and even leading to salinity in inland aquifers, a government report has said.

Groundwater provides 95% of the water used for drinking and domestic purposes in the state. A copy of the report is with HT.

The report stated that in some districts like Mandsaur, Neemuch and Ujjain, there is a threat to shallow fresh water aquifers – the layer of water-bearing rock and silt just below the surface -- due to inland salinity.

The heavy exploitation of groundwater through shallow tubewells results in upward movement of saline water present in the deep aquifers, resulting in salination of fresh-water aquifers.

"The entire demand for rural drinking water is met through ground water extraction and due to more and more demand of water for agriculture purposes; the ground water sources identified for drinking purposes are also drying...," the report stated.

The report also highlighted the factors that are contributing to the depletion or less replenishing of the groundwater in the state.

Lokendra Thakkar, state coordinator of Knowledge Management Centre on Climate Change said that the analysis of the observed rainfall data since 1960s indicates a decreasing annual trend.

"Data shows heavy rainfall (over 100 mm) in the last 50 years was increasing as compared to rainfall less than 100 mm. This means, not only lower rainfall receipt is decreasing groundwater recharge over the years, but the increase in heavy rainfall events is leading to higher run off..," Thakkar said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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