99% of irrigated land in Jaipur sucks up groundwater: Report

JAIPUR: Jaipur’s 99% irrigated land of 2.80 lakh hectares uses groundwater for irrigation while the remaining 1% uses surface water, leading to gross over-exploitation of groundwater (GW) reserves.
The Central Groundwater Board Report 2022 (November) says that of the district’s 15 blocks, Govindgarh has the lion’s share with 40,000 hectares irrigated using groundwater. Blocks like Jhotwara and Sanganer lead in using groundwater for industrial purposes.
All the blocks of Jaipur have recorded over-exploitation of groundwater, which is defined as utilising it more than the recharging through rainwater each year.
The report says in 2021, the district recorded a deficit of 918 million cubic metres of groundwater, mainly due to over-exploitation for irrigation purposes.
The report points out that the imbalance in groundwater is gradually pushing the water table deeper. The analysis of the decadal water level trend (2011-2020) indicates that the overall trend in the district is decline at an average rate of 0.50 metres per year.
“Nearly 67% of the district showed declining water level trends except for Dudu, Phagi and Chaksu blocks in the decade 2011-2020,” reads the report.
In nearly 50% of the area in Jaipur, groundwater went below 40 metres from the ground level in 2021 and is continuing to go deeper. The report pointed out that indiscriminate use of groundwater has disrupted aquifers deposited for thousands of years.
Calling the report alarming, R K Goyal, soil scientist and in charge of Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Ladakh, said that a two-way approach of water conservation and rainwater harvesting is required, at a war footing, else the water-scarce state will face a crisis soon.
“The immediate action plan would be to create artificial recharge of surplus runoff water available within river sub-basins and micro watersheds. Plantation of trees of local species in the catchment will not only benefit local villagers but also reduce soil erosion. Identifying lakes and ponds which have dried up despite above normal rainfall and examining the reasons behind less water have to become a policy,” Goyal said.
Stressing on improving surface water reserves, L K Sharma, head of the department of environment science, Central University of Rajasthan, said, “The ideal situation is to utilise the volume of water which can be recharged so that aquifers don’t get disturbed. The share of surface water in irrigation should be increased by conservation of lakes, ponds, and catchment areas to reduce stress on groundwater.”
He also called for immediate shifting from water-intensive crops like wheat and mustard.
“The irregulated crop pattern, which is not in sync with the water resources, is adding stress on the existing water reserves,” he said.