Sustainable

Management of
Groundwater in India
Department of Business Economics

Submitted by

Prakash M
Richard Sarkar
Chaitanya
Vardan Singh

Abstract
In this project, sustainable management of ground water in India is analyzed. By understanding
the sources of ground water and the factors depleting the water sources, we analyzed the current
situation in some parts of India and the exploitation of ground water sources by industries is
analyzed. Few cases of Coca Colas plants exploitation in Rajasthan and few other states are
also analyzed. To attain sustainable ground water management, few government policies,
government initiatives against industrial purpose, macro policy recommendations, modern
ground water bill, cropping patterns are reviewed. Few micro recommendations are also drawn
towards ground water sustainability.

1. Introduction:

The Basics Of Groundwater Science

Groundwater
Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock. Groundwater makes up to
20% of worlds fresh water supply.
Water exists as a solid (ice), liquid, or gas (water vapour). Oceans, rivers, clouds, and rain all
contain water, and all are in a continuous state of change. Surface water evaporates, cloud water
precipitates, and rainfall infiltrates the ground. Despite its various dynamic states, the total
volume of water on earth has remained virtually unchanged for the last three billion years, at
roughly 1.4 billion km3 (Powell, 1997; Shiklomanov, 2000). Of course, the distribution of water
on earth varies; some locations have an abundance while others have very little. Of the total
volume of water, about 97.5 per cent is saline; of the remaining 2.5 per cent, about two-thirds is
isolated in polar ice and glaciers, and almost all of the remaining one-third is buried
underground. The remaining surface-water fraction, which is our traditional source of freshwater,
amounts to only about 0.3 per cent of the planets freshwater (Gleick, 1996). The circulation and
conservation of the Earths water is called the hydrological cycle
The Hydrological Cycle Solar energy continuously transfers water among the hydrosphere,
biosphere, lithosphere, cryosphere and atmosphere in a process that is governed by a water
balance. The water balance is an accounting of the water flowing in and out of a defined area in a
given time. The area could be an urban garden or the St. Lawrence River watershed. Although at
any given moment all the water in the global water balance must add up to the 1.4 billion km3
total, some segments of the cycle are moving very slowly, specifically deeper groundwater and
glaciers. They are considered stored water as their volumes are replaced only over very long
time frames. Other segments of the cycle, precipitation and rivers for example, are considered
flowing water because they are replenished almost on a daily basis.
Evaporation of surface water by the warmth of the sun drives the cycle. Surface-water features
such as oceans, lakes, and rivers provide approximately 90 per cent of the moisture in the
atmosphere via solar evaporation; the remaining 10 per cent is evaporated by plants through
transpiration. Evaporation is controlled by the energy supply of the environment and is expected
to increase with climate change where water supply permits. At any given time, it is estimated

that almost 13,000 km3 of water is present in the atmosphere, or roughly 0.001 per cent of the
earths total volume of water. Precipitation occurs as water vapour cools and eventually
condenses, usually on tiny particles of dust in the atmosphere. It is estimated that approximately
45,000 km3 of precipitation falls on the global landmass each year.
Rainfall or snowmelt in excess of evapotranspiration and infiltration produces runoff to wetlands,
streams and lakes. A fraction of the precipitation water infiltrates into the ground. The rate of
infiltration depends on soil type, soil moisture content, slope steepness and the presence of
cracks or fractures in the ground. The rate of infiltration and the runoff and evaporation patterns
determine, on a local basis, the fraction of water applied to the surface that moves through the
soil to become groundwater. Thus groundwater is the residual from precipitation, after
evapotranspiration and runoff have been accounted for.
Groundwater represents the largest stock of freshwater in the global water cycle, although it is
estimated that somewhat less than half of this volume is freshwater, the rest being in deeper
saline aquifers. Only about three per cent of total groundwater is active in the hydrological cycle
on an annual basis (Gleick, 1996).

Water cycle is the source of groundwater, which is unseen but very important.

Aquifier:

An aquifer is a layer of porous substrate that contains and transmits groundwater.

2. Relevance in India:
Groundwater in India
Monitoring of ground water regime is an effort to obtain information on ground water levels and
chemical quality through representative sampling. The important attributes of ground water
regime monitoring are ground water level, ground water quality and temperature. The primary
objective of establishing the ground water monitoring network stations is to record the response
of ground water regime to the natural and anthropogenic stresses of recharge and discharge
parameters with reference to geology, climate, physiography, land use pattern and hydrologic
characteristics. The natural conditions affecting the regime involve climatic parameters like
rainfall, evapotranspiration etc., whereas anthropogenic influences include pumpage from the
aquifer, recharge due to irrigation systems and other practices like waste disposal etc.

Number of monitoring stations: 12,492

Factors contributing to groundwater

gravity is the dominating driving force

water flows from high elevation to low elevation and from high pressure to low pressure,
gradients in potential energy (hydraulic head) drive groundwater flow

recharge and discharge

in recharge areas water is added to groundwater

in discharge areas water is lost from groundwater

in recharge (discharge) areas, the hydraulic head decreases (increases) with depth

recharge occurs from the unsaturated zone or from surface waters

groundwater discharge occurs into rivers, lakes, springs, or by evapotranspiration

Groundwater recharge
Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process where water
moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method that water
enters an aquifer.

3. ANALYSIS:
A Case Study on Over-depletion of Ground-Water Resource by Coca Cola in Kaladera,
Rajasthan
Overview:
Kala Dera is a large village outside the city of Jaipur. Agriculture is the primary source of
livelihood.
Coca-Cola started its bottling operations in Kala Dera in 2004, and within a year, the
community started to notice a rapid decline in groundwater levels.

Groundwater levels in Kala Dera, the site of CocaCola's controversial bottling plant in
India, have plummeted 5.83 meters (19 feet) in just one year between May 2007 and May
2008, according to government data obtained by the India Resource Center from the
Central Groundwater Board.

The area of Kala Dera has also been declared a drought area by the government, adding
to the water shortages in the area.
Adding further to the severe water crisis as a result of dropping groundwater levels and
drought are Coca Colas bottling operations. The company reaches peak production
capacity in the summer months using the most amount of water exactly when the water
shortages for the community are the most pronounced.

Farmers and the community in the Kala Dera area rely largely on the groundwater
resource to meet all their water needs, the same source of water used by Coca Cola for its
bottling operations.

(Pic: Wells go dry at Kaladera as there is a clash over competing water uses Agriculture
and industrial- Coca Cola plant)
Community response in Kaladera against Coca Cola
"The Coca-Cola company is denying our fundamental human right to water by
continuing to extract groundwater from a rapidly falling aquifer. Every drop of water that
Coca-Cola extracts from the groundwater is water taken away from the children, women
and men who are unable to meet their basic water needs, leave alone the farmers who are
seeing their crops fail,"
- (Mahesh Yogi of the Kala Dera Sangharsh Samiti, a local community group in
Kala Dera opposing Coca-Cola since 2002.)
"Coca-Cola's operations in Kala Dera are an assault on the community. The community
has primary rights over groundwater, and meeting basic water needs such as drinking and
for agriculture have to be met first. We have drought in Kala Dera and accessing water is
extremely difficult for people. Coca-Cola has no place here. They must shut down."
- (Sawai Singh of the Jan Sangharsh Samiti who had petitioned the Rajasthan state
government, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, seeking closure orders on the
bottling plant.)
"Coca-Cola's continued operations in Kala Dera are criminal. Water levels have
plummeted because of Coca-Cola, the rains have been deficient, the area is experiencing
drought, people have no drinking water, farmers have no water to cultivate their land and
have lost their livelihoods, yet Coca-Cola continues to withdraw millions of liters of

groundwater to make Coca-Cola. And if those weren't enough reasons to shut down the
plant, Coca-Cola's own study has recommended closure of the bottling plant. All the
signs point towards one resolution - shut down the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Kala
Dera."
-(Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaigning
organization that works with the community in Kala Dera to oppose the plant.)

Coca-Cola's Outrageous Claims in response to allegations

1. When Coca-Cola was asked to verify the actual numbers behind its claim of recharging
six times the amount of water in Kala Dera, Coca-Cola admits it does not have metering
mechanisms to measure how much water is recharged.

2. Using their 2004 actual groundwater usage in Kala Dera, Coca-Cola's claims of
recharging six times the amount of groundwater it used in Kala Dera translates into
recharging about 1.3 billion liters of water annually - just in Kala Dera alone. It is enough
water to meet the basic drinking water needs for a million people - for an entire year! If
Coca-Cola's claims are to be believed, there would be no water shortages in the area.

3. Precipitously falling groundwater levels in Kala Dera, particularly since Coca-Cola began
operations in Kala Dera in 2000, suggest a massive depletion of groundwater, and not a
recharge or replenishment, as Coca-Cola claims. Coca-Cola's claims contradicted
government data on groundwater levels.

4. There is not enough rainfal in the Kala Dera area to meet such ambitious water recharge
numbers given the number of rainwater harvesting structures set up by Coca-Cola. Kala
Dera receives less that 600 mm of rain annually under normal circumstances and it is a
drought prone area. Nine of the last twenty six years have been drought years.

5. About 80% of the rainfall in Kala Dera falls in a matter of 3 to 4 days, according to Dr.
M. S. Rathore, a natural resource expert on Kala Dera who is deeply skeptical of CocaCola's claims. Under such rainfall patterns, Coca-Cola's claims become even more
exaggerated because it suggests that they are recharging just over 1 billion liters of water
in just a matter of four days. Such a feat is impossible, especially in Kala Dera.

6. All of Coca-Cola's rainwater harvesting structures in and around Kala Dera are in
"dilapidated" conditions, according to the 2008 TERI study the company paid for.

(Graph showingRapid decline of Ground Water in Kaladera since installation of plant in

2000)

(Image showing Groundwater stressed blocks of India and Kaladeras status in the stressed
blocks)
Other similar cases of Ground water exploitation by Coca Cola plants in India
1) Plachimada, Kerala:
The single largest CocaCola bottling plant in India, in Plachimada, Kerala, remains shut
down since March 2004. Initially ordered to shut down until June 15 (for arrival of
monsoon rains) by the state government to ease drought conditions, the Plachimada
bottling plant has been unable to open because the local village council (panchayat) is

refusing to reissue CocaCola a license to operate.

The village council has maintained that the plant needs to shut down because it has
destroyed the water system in the area as well as polluted the area. The struggle in
Plachimada is the oldest struggle against CocaCola in India and there has been a 24/7
vigil directly in front of the factory gates since April 22, 2002. The struggle in
Plachimada has also enjoyed significant victories.
In December 2003, the High court, in an extremely significant decision, ruled that
CocaCola HAD to seek alternative sources of water and that it could extract only as much
water from the common groundwater resource as a farmer owning 34 acres of land could.
The justification being that the plant is located on 34 acres. Furthermore, the court held
that the groundwater belonged to the people and the Government had no right to allow a
private party to extract such a huge quantity of ground water which was "a property held
by it in trust''.
13) Mehdiganj, Uttar Pradesh
More so than other struggles against CocaCola in India, the communities in Mehdiganj, a
village about 20 kms from the holy city of Varanasi, have more of an uphill battle because
the local and state officials are turning a blind eye to the concerns of the communities. So
far the water table has declined between 2540 feet in the last four years, and CocaCola
has been discharging its waste water into the surrounding fields, and now into a canal that
feeds into the river Ganges, a holy river for millions of Indian. The landscape is very
rural, and farming is the main source of livelihood in the area. Many farmers have yet to
be compensated for the land that was taken from them in order to build the CocaCola
bottling facility.
The movement to shut down the CocaCola plant has been growing rapidly for the last
year. In August 2003, community members entered the office of the Regional Pollution
Control Board in Varanasi, and to protest their inaction, dumped sacks full of sludge from
the CocaCola plant on the table of the regional officer. In September 2003, over 500

people marched to the CocaCola factory gates and were physically attacked and beaten
by police and private security guards. In October 2003, a march was organized from the
Coke plant in Mehdiganj to a Pepsi plant in Jaunpur, about 150 km away. And in mid
December 2003, ten activists went on a Five day hunger strike in front of the plant. They
were supported by fifty people sitting with them each day, and about 300 people went on
hunger strikes of varied duration. And in June 2004, hundreds conducted a sitting in front
of the state assembly in Lucknow.

(Farmer Urmila Vishwakarma stands for a photograph near the Coca Cola Co. bottling
plant in Mehediganj, Varanasi. Vishwakarma said she takes water from 240 feet down,
versus 65 feet in prior years. Our biggest battle is for water, she said. Our situation has
become critical. Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

Coca-Cola finally shuts down plant at Kala Dera, Rajasthan due to exhaustion of
Groundwater level

In February 2016, CocaCola India has stopped production at three plants ahead of the
peak summer season, citing inadequate demand, including one in Kaladera, Rajasthan
where activists have alleged water depletion. The other plants that were shut are in
Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Activist body India Resource Center (IRC) had said Wednesday that one of the primary
reasons for the closure of the Kaladera plant in Jaipur was the increased difficulty in
accessing groundwater from a depleted aquifer, in addition to incurring financial losses.
Activist group IRC said it has proof that a CocaCola representative told workers that
production at Kaladera was shut down on January 25, 2016, and there is no possibility of
resuming in the future, the plant has incurred financial losses, the availability of
groundwater and raw materials has become difficult and that the plant will now serve as a
storage and distribution centre.

(Newspaper extract from Economic Times- dated 11th February, 2016- stating the closure
decision of Coca Cola plant in Kaladera)
Sustainability Initiatives taken by Government of India against Ground water depletion for
Industrial purpose
Until late 2015 now, it was mandatory for all new industries to apply f or an NOC. But
following November 2015 Government order, when the revised guidelines came into
effect, all existing industries were also directed to obtain NOC. "All existing industries or
projects which are drawing ground water and have not obtained NOC for groundwater
withdrawal either due to its coming into existence prior to formation of CGWA or due to
exemption from obtaining NOC as per earlier guidelines shall apply to CGWA f or NOC f
or groundwater withdrawal with immediate eff ect," the new guidelines stated.
The applications can be submitted online and the grant of NOC will be considered as per
prevailing guidelines. The processing fee for every new NOC is Rs 1000 and Rs 500 for
renewal of NOC. It would be also mandatory for industries to submit water quality report
of effluents.

(Newspaper extract from Times of India-dated 18th November 2015- stating CGWA order
to take NOC for industrial use of Groundwater)

Defining Ground Water Vulnerability:

From the data of Central Groundwater Board, (district level data sets 1995 and 2004) below are
the states with unsustainable levels
State

Annual

Net Avalability

Net Draft Net draft/Net

Replenishable

Availability*100

Ground water
Haryana
Punjab
Rajasthan

resource
9.31
23.78
11.56

8.63
21.44
10.38

Note: Water measurement in Billion Cubic Metres(BCM)

9.45
31.16
12.99

109
145
125

Policy Recommendations:

4. Policy and legal framework for groundwater management

National Water Policy
The main policies affecting groundwater management are the 1998 National Water Policy
(NWP) and the 2002 amended version. Both have no statutory status, and thus cannot be legally
enforced. They are the outcome of intensive political discussions. State governments could find
them useful in developing their own water policies by adapting them to their specific agroclimatic and socioeconomic characteristics leading to the implementation of the Expert Group
recommendations:

Water resources should be managed in the context of the environment, ecology,

sustainability, equity, social justice, conservation, participation of stakeholders, and role of

women.
There should be a periodical reassessment of the groundwater potential on a scientific basis,
taking into consideration the quality of the water available and economic viability of its

extraction.
The abstraction of groundwater resources should be regulated so as not to exceed the safe

yield while ensuring social equity.

The detrimental environmental consequences of over-abstraction of groundwater need to be

prevented by the central and state governments.

Groundwater recharge projects should be developed and implemented for improving both the

quality and availability of groundwater resources.

Integrated and coordinated development of surface water and groundwater resources and
their conjunctive use should be considered from the project planning stage, and should form

an integral part of project implementation.

Over-abstraction of groundwater should be avoided, especially near the coast, to prevent

ingress of seawater into freshwater aquifers.

Both surface water and groundwater should be regularly monitored for quality.
A phased program should be undertaken for improvements in water quality.
For effective and economical management of Indias water resources, there needs to be
considerable improvement in knowledge by intensifying research efforts in various areas.

Legal framework
Groundwater in the Indian legal system falls within a complex, multilayered framework,
consisting of a range of constitutional and statutory provisions at the central and state levels.
The right to groundwater has traditionally been seen as following the right to land, based on the
Indian Easements Act of 1882. However, this long-established real property groundwater right
is challenged by the emerging public interest dimension of groundwater use. In 1996, the
Supreme Court, ruling under the Environment (Protection) Act (1986), instructed the government
of India to establish the Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) to regulate and control
groundwater development with a view to preserving and protecting this resource. The decisions
made in a more recent case involving the Coca-Cola Company also affirm the governments right
and obligation to protect groundwater under the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution of
India.
The Constitution lists water supplies which is understood to include groundwater under the
state List, thereby giving the states jurisdiction to regulate and control groundwater. However,
the central government also has a concurrent power to make laws with respect to any matter for
any part of the territory of India. Accordingly, the central government has sought to support
states in a pragmatic way through the issuance of the Model Groundwater Bill.
Model Groundwater Bill
The rationale for the bill is to provide a template for consideration by state governments, which
can modify and adopt it according to their needs. It was first developed in 1970 and has
subsequently been revised and circulated many times. Among other things, the bill recommends
the establishment and empowerment of some form of state groundwater management agency,
and registration and control of at least the larger groundwater users. It is important to note that
only a handful of states have enacted groundwater legislation based on the bill.
Institutions and capacity for groundwater management and protection
Through the National Environmental Policy and National Water Policy, the central government is
expected to play a role in the direction of groundwater development and management in the
country. The Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) is charged with the regulation and

development of groundwater as a prime natural resource of national importance. The CGWA

includes the representative of and is headed by the chair of the Central Groundwater Board
(CGWB), which is a dedicated groundwater research/resource assessment and monitoring
agency on the national level(under the Ministry of Water Resources). The CGWB provides
support to the State Groundwater Boards (SGBs), who are responsible for these activities on the
state level.
In addition to the CGWA and CGWB, the various agencies at different levels in the government
that are important actors in groundwater development and use are shown in Table . This large
number of agency players impacting a vital resource without effective coordination or regulatory
oversight translates into a significant governance challenge for groundwater management in
India. Other challenges are:

The roles and responsibilities between state and central groundwater institutions are not

sufficiently defined.
The CGWAs rules for regulation, development, and management of the resource are still
pending approval and many states have reservations regarding its mandate given that

groundwater is primarily a state subject.

Although the CGWA and CGB have the potential to become champions of sustainable
groundwater management in India, the continued lack of clarity over their status and chronic
understaffing means central government institutions cannot properly fulfil their functions and
effectively support state agencies.

Source: WORLD BANK

Financing
Given the millions of water wells in India mainly drilled, operated, and maintained by private
users and the scant institutional enforcement capacity, it cannot currently be expected that users
can contribute toward groundwater management costs. There is, however, an outstanding issue
that merits discussion: the groundwater-energy nexus, and one possible way forward through
up-scaling where feasible Gujarats promising Jyotigram Scheme.

In recent years, the excessive consumption of electricity by Indian agriculture (currently a

colossal 87,000 GWhr) has been hotly debated and remains a critical topic for the nations future.
Most electricity consumed by agriculture goes to pumping groundwater, or at least trying to
pump groundwater. Energy-supply policy (especially the level and effectiveness of rural
electrification) and pricing (especially the adoption of flat-rate tariffs according to pump
capacity) have exerted a great influence on groundwater use for irrigated agriculture, but there
are major differences among various Indian regions .For example, some areas (much of Gujarat,
Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh) have high coverage of rural electrification and the supply
(although intermittent) is sufficiently predictable overall for farmers to rely exclusively on
pumpsets driven by electric engines, which receive a major subsidy via flat-rate tariffs and pay
only 20 percent of the cost of the energy consumed. In other areas (such as much of Rajasthan
and Uttar Pradesh) where rural electrification is more limited and/or where service levels are
poor, farmers depend much more on diesel-engined pump sets, paying higher use-related rates
for energy consumption.
The widespread depletion of groundwater over the last 1015 years due to intensive abstraction
for irrigated agriculture has become a major concern. In many areas, this has occurred more-orless year-on-year, except for a partial (but temporary) recovery following years of exceptional
monsoon rainfall. Depletion of the resource base has already had other impacts, such as yield
failure or quality deterioration in public-supply water wells. Flat-rate electricity tariffs are not the
primary cause of excessive groundwater exploitation and declining water level, because this
condition also occurs in areas where farmers use diesel-engined pumpsets. Moreover, energy
consumption (even without subsidy) represents only a minor proportion of total crop production
costs. The underlying reason is the growth of dry-season abstraction for crop irrigation to levels
well beyond the average rate of aquifer replenishment from monsoon rainfall.
Framework for Sustainable Management:

Mapping aquifiers incorporating variations in hydrogeological

Mapping should take place at the scale of watershed of the order 1000-200 0 hectares
(Tamilnadu, 13 million hectares , 60000 points)

Maps can be aggregated at a more regional scale rather than move down

Aggregated village level data support to take informed decisions

Informed decisions

Protection of the recharge area

controlling the depth and spacing of wells
regulating capacity and efficiency of pumps used
Water saving irrigation methods
Regulating of cropping pattern drip irrigation
Government subsidies electricity , pumps
Combine with programmes MGNREGA, IWMP, Artificial recharge

Ground water quality

Salinity
Specific to aquifier

Estimation of ground water recharge

Rainfall, canal seepage, return flow from irrigation,rivers

Cropping Pattern
The below photos shows the cultivation of Maize, Groundnut and Paddy. Among these paddy
will require more water to cultivate. We have to choose the right crop to cultivate according to
the rainfall and canal water availability.
We have mentioned this because, in village over exploitation of ground water is undertaken to
cultivate these crops. Government should intervene and water saving irrigation methods should
be taught to the farmers like drip irrigation and right choice of crops should be cultivated. This
not only saves water but also sustainability of water will be maintained.

Maize Cultivation

Groundnut
Cultivation

Paddy Cultivation

Micro Recommendations:

Current situation and action

Policy Area

Description
needed
Food crop procurement purchases MSP water intensive crops

Crop Policy

and price guarantees

like paddy
Free for irrigation pumping

Subsidies on inputs

Electricity
Moisture management mulching,

realistic tested measures req

composting

Project and Pilot support

Challenge is maintenance,
farmers investment and link to

Recharge Programs

Rainwater harvesting and recharge

demand management
Current situation and action

Policy Area

Description
Sand and gravel mining

needed
Key in storing flood water and

in recharge, uncontrolled to
controlled state
Houses with roof water
Land use planning

REFERENCE

Protection of recharge areas,

collection, waste seal to

Housing, Solid waste disposal

prevent contamination

Central Ground Water Board. 2005. Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water
in India. New Delhi: Government of India, Ministry ofWater Resources
(http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/MASTER%20PLAN%20Final-2002.pdf, accessed May

16, 2009)
Bhatia, R. 2005. Water and Growth. Washington, DC: World Bank
Planning Commission. Report of the Expert Group on Groundwater Management and
ownership. New Delhi: GoI