'Irrigation Census': Andhra has 1,90,777 water bodies, Telangana 64,056

Hyderabad: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam are home to 63% of the total water bodies in the country.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, which has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies nationwide.

The census provides a comprehensive inventory of India's water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds, tanks, lakes, and more.

It has collected 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.

`Irrigation Census’ was launched in convergence with the 6th Minor Irrigation Census to have a comprehensive national database of all water bodies.

How was the study done?

During the census, information about the type, condition, status of encroachments, use, storage capacity, and the status of filling up of storage of the water bodies was collected.

It covered all the water bodies in rural and urban areas that are in or not in use. The census also considered all types of uses of water bodies like irrigation, industry, pisciculture, domestic/ drinking, recreation, religion, and groundwater recharge.

According to the Ministry, the census provides a comprehensive inventory of India's water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds, tanks, lakes, and more. It also collected 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.

Data

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 five states in terms of the number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam. These states are home to around 63% of the total water bodies in the country.

The top five states in terms of the number of water bodies in urban areas are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Tripura. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam are the five top states in terms of the highest number of water bodies in rural areas.

About 59.5% of water bodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7%), reservoirs (12.1%), Water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams (9.3%), lakes (0.9%), and others (2.5%).

Public/ Private own water bodies

According to the Ministry, out of all public-owned water bodies, the maximum water bodies are owned by panchayats, followed by state irrigation/state WRD.

Out of all privately owned water bodies, the maximum water bodies are in the hands of Individual owner/farmer followed by a group of individuals and other private bodies.

Private entities own 55.2% of water bodies, whereas 44.8% of water bodies are in the domain of public ownership.

Top five states which lead in the privately owned water bodies are West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand.

Out of all 'in use' water bodies, major water bodies are reportedly used in pisciculture, followed by irrigation.

Top five states wherein major use of water bodies is in pisciculture are West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

Top five states wherein the major use of water bodies is in irrigation are Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, and Gujarat.

Natural/man-made water bodies

The study says 78% of water bodies are man-made water bodies, whereas 22% are natural water bodies. 1.6% (38,496) water bodies out of all the enumerated water bodies are reported to have encroached out of which 95.4% are in rural areas and the remaining 4.6% in urban areas.

The information on the water spread area was reported in respect of 23,37,638 water bodies. Out of these water bodies, 72.4% have a water spread area of fewer than 0.5 hectares, 13.4% have a water spread area between 0.5-1 hectare, 11.1% have a water spread area between 1-5 hectares and the remaining 3.1% of water bodies have water spread area more than 5 hectares.

Andhra Pradesh

According to the study, Andhra Pradesh has an area of 1,60,205 km. It has 13 districts with a population of 49.67 million.

In the first census, a total of 1,90,777 water bodies are enumerated in the State, out of which 99.7% (1,90,263) are in rural areas and the remaining 0.3% (514) are in urban areas. The majority of the water bodies are Tanks followed by Water Conservation Schemes/percolation tanks/check

Dams

Out of water bodies, 57.2% (1,09,074) are under private ownership whereas the remaining 42.8% (81,703) are under public ownership. Out of all the private-owned water bodies 90.3% (98518) are in the hands of individual farmers whereas out of the public-owned water bodies, 84.3%(68,881) are with State Water Resource Department/ State Irrigation.

By location, 27.4% (52376) of water bodies are located in the areas under the 'Drought Prone Areas Programme', 5.4% (10,326) in tribal areas, and the remaining 67.1% (1,28,075) are located in flood-prone areas, naxal affected and other areas.

Telangana

Telangana has an area of 1,12,077 km and a population of 3,50,03,674.

In the first census, 64,056 water bodies have been enumerated,

Out of which 98.5% (63,064) are in rural areas, and the remaining 1.5% (992) are in urban areas.

While 80.5% (51,593) are under public ownership, the remaining 19.5% (12,463) are under private ownership. By location, 17.3% (11,076) of water bodies are located in the areas under the 'Drought Prone Areas Programme', 10.6% (6,781) in tribal areas, and the remaining 72.1% (46,199) are located in flood-prone areas, naxal affected and other.

Jal Shakti

Ministry of Jal Shakti is the nodal ministry responsible for laying down policy guidelines and programs for the development, conservation, and management of water as a national resource.

Ministry has a multidimensional approach towards the water sector, on one hand, it is spearheading ambitious programs on providing safe and adequate drinking water to every household in the country, eliminating open defecation in rural areas, rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries, improving the safety and operational performance of existing dams, and on the other hand, it is involved in assessment, development, and regulation of the country's water resources through technical guidance, scrutiny, clearance, and monitoring.