India launches Web-enabled groundwater information system

The Indian government has launched a Web-enabled information system that will allow all stakeholders to access information about groundwater availability acrosss the country seamlessly.

The system was jointly developed by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), which is under the administrative control of the Water Resources Ministry, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Launching the system on World Water Day on March 22, India's Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal said the system would provide all the stakeholders access to various thematic layers as well as the nationwide database generated by CGWB on groundwater level and water quality.

The initiative would help more effective sharing of information relating to groundwater resource availability and water level trend with user groups, planners and administrators, he added.

The Online system comes at a time when India's groundwater resources are dwindling at a fast pace. In several blocks across the country, the rate of extraction of groundwater is increasing and exceeds the rate of recharge, leading to lowered water tables. Experts have cautioned that over-exploitation of aquifers is also likely to hit the fragile ecosystems.

Bansal urged all Federal and state government departments which are repositories of groundwater data to come forward to pool it on the Web-based knowledge platform for the benefit of all stakeholders.

The system would initially be available in Government-to-Government (G2G) domain for planning and decision-making for management of groundwater resources. later on, the system will allow groundwater information availability to people and all organizations. It would allow, for instance, a farmer to access groundwater information for his village through the e-kiosks that are being set up across the country.

Groundwater remains India’s water lifeline and well over 85 per cent of rural water supply comes from it. Also, as much as half of the urban and industrial water supply too comes from groundwater systems.

The Indian Government has been making efforts to strengthen groundwater resource management system in the country and had in late 2008 announced the launch of a new scheme -- Ground Water Management and Regulation -- after merging three existing ones into a comprehensive one. The scheme, which had an outlay of Rs 460 crore, was also expected to help in delineating groundwater development worthy areas and developing area specific artificial recharge and rain water harvesting techniques.