Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies across the nation. The census provides a comprehensive inventory of India’s water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds, tanks, lakes, and more, and to collect data on the encroachment of water bodies. The Census also highlighted disparities between rural and urban areas and varying levels of encroachment and revealed crucial insights into the country’s water resources.
Key Highlight of the Census
- 24,24,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country, out of which 97.1% (23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) are in urban areas.
- Top 05 States in terms of number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam which constitute around 63% of the total water bodies in the country.
- Top 05 States in terms of number of water bodies in urban areas are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura, whereas in rural areas, top 05 States are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.
- Top 05 States which lead in the private owned water bodies are West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand.
- Top 05 States wherein major use of water bodies is in pisciculture are West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh;
It is worth mentioning that, Assam stood in the list of top 5 State that has the highest no of waterbodies as per the first ever census data. According to the data Assam Recorded 1,66,240 ponds, 219 tanks, 195 lakes and 100 reservoirs.
The finalization of results and completion of this report has been made possible by the strenuous efforts of all the officers and staff of Minor Irrigation (Stat) Wing of the Ministry of Jal Shakti under the supervision and support of Secretary, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Shri Pankaj Kumar, as well as dedicated technical support provided by National Informatics Centre and determined efforts made by the State/UT Governments. The IEC Division of the Ministry is ensuring dissemination of the Census report across the nation and especially for planners, research scholars, agricultural and water scientists, policy makers, administrators and all other stakeholders in this sector.
