Recently, the Ministry of Jal Shakti 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.
During 1st census of water bodies, 24,24,540 water bodies are enumerated in the country. Out of which 59.5% (14,42,993) are ponds,15.7% (3,81,805) are tanks, and 12.1% (2,92,280) are reservoirs. The remaining 12.7% (3,07,462) are water conservation schemes/check dams/percolation tanks, lakes, and other water bodies. The top five States in the number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha & Assam.
Out of the enumerated 24,24,540 water bodies, 97.1% (23,55,055) are in rural areas while 2.9% (69,485) are in urban areas. Among these water bodies, 83.7% (20,30,040) are ‘in use’ whereas the remaining 16.3% (3,94,500) are not in use/non-functional. Major water bodies are used in Pisciculture followed by Irrigation and Groundwater recharge
13,38,735 water bodies are owned by private entities whereas 10,85,805 are under public ownership.
Among all water bodies, 9.6% are located in Tribal areas, 8.8% in Flood prone areas, and 2.0 % in Naxal-affected areas. 78% are man-made water bodies whereas 22% are natural water bodies. The majority of man-made water bodies are earthen in nature and have the original cost of construction up to Rs. 1,00,000.
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, whereas in rural areas, the top five States are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.
