Dakshina Kannada groundwater levels in ‘safe’ category, only 45% utilised: Union Jal Shakti Ministry

The Union Water Resources Ministry has categorised the Dakshina Kannada territory arsenic “safe” regarding its groundwater levels and extraction rates, arsenic lone astir 45% of the full extractable groundwater is being utilised for each purposes, including domestic, agricultural, and concern use, successful 2025.

While answering Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta’s unstarred question connected including Dakshina Kannada successful the Atal Bhujal Yojana, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary stated that determination could beryllium immoderate pockets experiencing seasonal groundwater stress.

Mr. Chowta had besides asked whether the authorities had conducted immoderate caller survey to place the causes of h2o scarcity oregon depletion of drinking h2o sources successful Mangaluru and different parts of Dakshina Kannada.

Mr. Choudhary said the Atal Bhujal Yojana, a community-led participatory groundwater management, was implemented successful 1,199 gram panchayats crossed 41 over-exploited taluks successful 14 districts of Karnataka, excluding Dakshina Kannada.

Only 45.71% extracted

Stating that dynamic groundwater resources of the state were being assessed jointly by the Central Groundwater Board (CGWD) and authorities governments, the Minister said the full groundwater recharge successful Dakshina Kannada was 73,327 hectare metre (ham) and the yearly extractable groundwater assets was 65,995 ham.

The full yearly groundwater extraction of the full territory for the twelvemonth 2025 was estimated astatine 30,166 ham and the signifier of groundwater extraction (SoE), which was a measurement of yearly groundwater extraction for each uses (irrigation, concern and home uses) implicit yearly extractable groundwater resources, was arrived astatine 45.71% for the territory arsenic a whole, placing it successful the “safe” category, Mr. Choudhary said.

Ease of access

Mr. Chowdhary said the CGWB monitors groundwater levels 4 times each twelvemonth done its web of monitoring stations and not gram panchayat-wise. The block-wise groundwater level information measured during post-Monsoon 2024 for Dakshina Kannada indicated that astir 95% of the analysed wells had h2o levels ranging betwixt 0-10 metres beneath crushed level (mbgl), indicating easiness of entree to groundwater, helium said.

Stating that CGWB besides assesses semipermanent fluctuation successful groundwater levels, Mr. Choudhary noted that the post-Monsoon 2024 groundwater levels was compared with the mean h2o level information of erstwhile years, i.e., November 2020-2024. Analysis of the information indicated that astir 86% of the wells monitored had registered a emergence successful groundwater levels successful 2024 arsenic compared to the mean information of the erstwhile 5 years.