Image used for representational purpose only.
HYDERABAD: Almost half of Telangana is experiencing dangerous levels of groundwater exploitation. Speaking in numbers, at least 14 lakh bore wells have been sunk in Telangana that extract, on an average, 65 per cent of the entire groundwater resource of the State.
As per the recently released ‘Dynamic Groundwater Resources of Telangana State’ report for 2016-17, Telangana has 12,361 MCM (436.5 TMC) of groundwater, of which 8,084 MCM (284.5 TMC) was extracted in 2016-17, which is around 65 per cent of the entire groundwater resource, an increase from the 58 per cent reported for erstwhile ten districts of Telangana when a similar report was released earlier in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 2012-13. However, the scenario is not the same everywhere across the State as in some places the extraction of groundwater is at dangerous levels.
The report mentions that there are 14 lakh borewells in the state. However, these figures only pertain to registered borewells, mostly used for agriculture purpose, and there must be lakhs of borewells used for agriculture as well as for industrial and drinking purposes, that are not registered under Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA).
Telangana Groundwater department director Dr Pandith Madhnure said, “In central Telangana, there are many places which have more borewells than dug wells. There are many mandals here where the extraction of groundwater is very high.”
First report in TS
The report would be the first groundwater estimation report since the formation of Telangana. The last report was brought out in 2012-13
