Govt sharpens groundwater monitoring, impact on food output feared

The Centre is looking to revamp its approach to groundwater management, a senior government official said, as the nation faces the critical challenge of falling groundwater levels that threaten agricultural productivity, The government aims to expand the network of monitoring wells to 90,000, including through 40,000 digital water level recorders (DWLRs) across the country.

- PujaDas

This move is designed to enhance data quality and the frequency of groundwater analysis as it shifts to a more efficient six-hour data capture cycle.

At present, the department of water resources, River Development and Ganga rejuvenation has 26,000 monitoring stations and 67,000 monitored wells across the country.

It also has about 6,000-8,000 piezometers (used to measure underground water pressure), but none of them have digital water level recorders.

India is one of the world's biggest crop producers and more than half of its 1.3 billion people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.