Jaldoot App & Groundwater Status in India

Jaldoot App & Groundwater Status in India

• The "JALDOOT App and JALDOOT App e-brochure" was recently released by the Ministry of Rural Development to better measure groundwater levels.

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About JALDOOT app

• The Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Rural Development collaborated to create the JALDOOT app.
• This app will be used all throughout the nation to record the water level of a village's chosen one to three wells.
• Both online and offline usage of the app is supported. Water level can therefore be recorded even in the absence of internet connectivity. Recorded data will be kept on a mobile device, and when that device enters a zone of connectivity, data will synchronise with the main server.
• The NWIC's (National Water Informatics Centre) database, which may be used for the analysis and display of numerous helpful reports for the benefit of various stakeholders, will be combined with the regular data that the Jaldoots must input.

Relevance:

• This software will make it easier to monitor water tables across the nation, and the information gathered can be used for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Plans and Gram Panchayat Development Plans.
• A town across the nation launches the app to record the water level in a few chosen wells.
• Gram Rojgar Sahyak will be able to use the JALDOOT app to measure the water level of the well twice a year, before and after the monsoon.
• The software would help panchayats by providing better water resource planning.

What is India's groundwater depletion situation?

Groundwater Depletion Status:

• The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reports that several areas of the nation are witnessing a rapid groundwater depletion due to the 230 billion metre cubes of groundwater that are extracted annually for irrigating agricultural lands in India.
• In India, there has been an estimated loss of 122-199 billion cubic metres of groundwater.
• The irrigation industry is the largest category user in the nation, using 89% of groundwater that is extracted.
• Domestic groundwater, which makes up 9% of all extracted groundwater, comes in second.
• Groundwater is used 2% industrially. Groundwater also provides 85% of home water needs in rural areas and 50% of urban water needs.

Causes of groundwater depletion:

Green Revolution:

• The Green Revolution made it possible for crops that require a lot of water to be produced in areas that are prone to drought and water shortages, by over-extracting groundwater.
• Rapid depletion results from routinely drawing groundwater without first waiting for its recharge.
• Additionally, high MSPs (Minimum Support Prices) for crops that require a lot of water.

Subsidy

• The electricity subsidy provided by some states like Punjab, Haryana etc further allows excessive usage of groundwater due to electric tube well.

Inadequate Regulation:

• Without any consequences, inadequate regulation of groundwater fosters the depletion of its resources.

Federal Concern:

• Because water is a state matter, efforts on water management, such as water conservation and water harvesting, and providing enough drinkable water to inhabitants of the nation fall principally under the purview of the States.

Implication of Groundwater depletion:

• Excessive Groundwater extraction results in water contamination due to landfills, septic tanks, leaking underground gas tanks, fertiliser and pesticide use, and even leaching of harmful soil-based radiations into water.
• Excessive Groundwater extraction also impacts the vegetation cover in the region.
• In the long run threat to agriculture and industrial use.

Way ahead

• Artificial Groundwater Recharge: This procedure involves either injecting water through wells directly into the aquifer or spreading or impounding water on the ground to improve penetration through the soil and percolation to the aquifer.
• Plants for managing groundwater: The installation of groundwater management facilities at the local level will assist the populace in understanding the groundwater availability in their region and encourage prudent use of it.

Read Also: Water Resources