Raipur, Sep 9 (PTI) Chhattisgarh has achieved a major milestone in groundwater conservation, with no development block in the state now falling under the “critical” groundwater extraction category, officials said on Wednesday.
According to the Groundwater Resources Assessment-2026, all five blocks that were classified as critical in 2025 have moved out of the category, while the number of critical blocks has declined from nine in 2020 to zero this year, a state public relations department official said.
The state has also recorded its biggest improvement in a single assessment cycle since block-wise groundwater assessment began, with the groundwater status of 12 development blocks improving and the number of blocks in the safe category rising to 127, he said.
Annual groundwater recharge has reached an all-time high of 14.65 billion cubic metres (BCM), while total groundwater extraction has declined for the first time in the available assessment record, the official said.
The assessment was jointly prepared by the Central Ground Water Board and the State Groundwater Survey Board, and approved by the State-Level Groundwater Assessment and Management Committee, he said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the achievement reflected sustained efforts by farmers, citizens and field-level personnel in water conservation.
“The elimination of critical blocks is an important milestone, but our goal is to bring every development block into the safe groundwater category by 2030,” he said in a statement.
Sai credited farmers, particularly in Bemetara and Rajnandgaon, for adopting changes in cropping practices to reduce groundwater consumption.
The assessment showed that groundwater recharge increased from 11.57 BCM in 2017 to a record 14.65 BCM in 2026. Compared with 2020, recharge from ponds and small water bodies increased by 266.9 per cent, while recharge from other water-conservation structures rose by 202.8 per cent, the statement said.
As many as 2,28,736 water-conservation structures have been recorded across the state for the 2026 assessment. Structures created or rejuvenated under initiatives such as ‘Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari’ and ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ contributed significantly to the increased recharge capacity, it said.
At the same time, total groundwater extraction declined from 6.30 BCM in the previous assessment cycle to 6.21 BCM in 2026, it said.
The stage of groundwater extraction, which stood at 49.5 per cent in 2022, has now declined to 46.37 per cent, well below the 70 per cent threshold for the safe category, the statement said.
The assessment attributed the decline in extraction partly to reduced summer paddy cultivation, particularly in Bemetara and Rajnandgaon.
In Bemetara, the area under summer paddy cultivation has declined from around 26,000 hectares to 5,000 hectares, while in Rajnandgaon it has fallen from 9,400 hectares to about 2,800 hectares. Together, the two districts have reduced summer paddy cultivation by around 27,600 hectares, it said.
Bemetara has moved out of the critical category after four consecutive assessment cycles and recorded nearly a 20 per cent reduction in total groundwater extraction compared with 2023, it said.
Rajnandgaon has also shown significant improvement. Its groundwater extraction level had reached 70.5 per cent in 2022, but the Rajnandgaon development block is now in the safe category, with irrigation-related groundwater extraction declining by 16.4 per cent compared with 2023, it said.
The improvements have resulted from coordinated efforts by the Water Resources, Panchayat and Rural Development, Agriculture and Public Health Engineering departments, district administrations and local communities, the statement said.
Water-conservation structures, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, responsible water use, crop diversification and promotion of less water-intensive crops have been pursued as part of an integrated strategy.
At present, 19 development blocks across 11 districts remain in the semi-critical category. The state government has set a target of ensuring that no development block remains groundwater-stressed by 2030, it said.
The next phase will focus on targeted groundwater recharge, water conservation, crop diversification and greater community participation in these semi-critical blocks, the release added.
The state government is now preparing to implement its annual Catch the Rain Plan 2026-27, with monthly targets at the development-block level to tailor conservation and groundwater recharge measures to local conditions, it added. PTI TKP NP
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