Jalandhar: Despite Punjab being asked by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to decrease at least 10 lakh hectare under water-guzzling paddy in state and use the same for maize cultivation, the government has been unable to do so in the past three years. This year’s target area under maize cultivation is 1.50-lakh hectare — same as set by the state agriculture department for the year 2011.

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) on Monday signed a contract with the Council of Scientific Industrial Research–National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) to implement a pilot project on using advanced geophysical techniques to map shallow and deep aquifers. The project is being implemented under World Bank-funded hydrology project and would be implemented in Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over a period of 15 months. The total project cost is about Rs 44.39 crore, out of which the CGWB component is about Rs 16.98 crore and NGRI's is about Rs.

Chandigarh: Expressing concern over the declining water table in the state, the Central Ground Water Board has recommended reducing area under paddy by more than 10 lakh hectares to achieve sustainable growth. In a detailed report submitted to the state government, the board has drawn a road map for the state for ground water management.

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 – The ongoing agitation against construction of mega dams in Assam may not cut much ice with the Centre, as a Ministry of Water Resources-sponsored study has favoured storage-backed projects for flood control.
The Report of the Working Group on Water Resources for XIth Five Year Plan stipulates that the storage-backed projects provide assured irrigation, hydropower generation, water for domestic and industrial use and also enable flood moderation, said Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent H Pala in a Rajya Sabha reply recently.

AHMEDABAD: If water was available at 63 meters underground in 1997 in the city, it is now available at around 100 meters. A recent study has revealed that ground water levels in Ahmedabad have dropped steeply.

The study, conducted by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) of the ministry of water resources which is the national apex organization for scientific surveys of the country's groundwater resources, said that the ground water will have to be recharged artificially to meet the steep water demand from increasing population.

The rules to regulate exploitation of ground water will come into effect by early December, P N Sreenivasachary, Secretary, Water Resource Department (Minor Irrigation) has said.

“Rules under the Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act, 2011, will be approved soon and an authority to regulate exploitation of ground water will be set up. The authority, in charge of granting permission to sink borewells, will also advise farmers on the kind of crops they can grow on their land,” Sreenivasachary said here on Monday.

JAIPUR: Given the fact that Rajasthan is a water deficit state and in the wake of mounting pressure on scarce water resources, to keep up the momentum of industrial development, Rajasthan Industrial Development & Investment Corporation (RIICO) and India Water Foundation (IWF) have joined hands to organise a one-day international conference on 'Water-Use Efficiency in Industrial Sector' on Wednesday in Jaipur.

Taking serious note of depleting ground water level, the district administration has decided not only to fine Rs1 lakh on one caught illegally drilling borewells, but the accused could be jailed for five years.

The city’s ground water is not fit for consumption unless it is treated for both biological and chemical contamination. A ground water quality study conducted by the Central Ground Water Board in several parts of Hyderabad revealed that water tapped from the ground failed in a number of crucial parameters including tests related to total hardness and calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate and nitrate contents.

An  area  of  430 km 2  has been  contaminated and turned saline due to  sea  water ingress  in the inland  aquifers  along  the tidal  river  courses and   also  in low  lying marshy areas according to a study conducted by  Central  Ground  Water  Board ( CGWB) which was released Monday by Water Resources  Department Minister Filip Neri Rodrigues