Towards Better Management of Ground Water Resources in India

Abstract

Introduction

Hydrogeological Set –up of the Country

i) Northern Mountainous Terrain and Hilly areas:

The highly rugged mountainous terrain in the Himalayan region in the northern part of the country extending from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh is characterized by steep slopes and high runoff. This region is underlain mostly by rocks such as granites, slate, sandstone and lime stone ranging in age from Paleozoic to Cenozoic. The yield potential ranges from 1 to 40 lps. Though this area offers very little scope for groundwater storage, it acts as the major source of recharge for the vast Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra alluvial plains.

ii) Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra Alluvial Plains:

This region encompasses an area of about 850,000 sq km covering states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal, accounting for more than one fourth of country’s land area, comprises the vast plains of Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and are underlain by thick piles of sediments of Tertiary and Quaternary age. This vast and thick alluvial fill, exceeding 1000 m at places, constitute the most potential and productive ground water reservoir in the country. These are characterized by regionally extensive and highly productive multi-aquifer systems. The ground water development in this region is still sub-optimal, except in the states of Haryana and Punjab. The deeper aquifers available in these areas offer good scope for further exploitation of ground water with suitable measures. In Indo-Gangetic- Brahmaputra plain, the deeper wells have yield ranging from 25-50 lps.

iii) Peninsular Shield Area:

These are located south of Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra plains and consist mostly of consolidated sedimentary rocks, Deccan Trap basalts and crystalline rocks in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Kerala. Occurrence and movement of ground water in these formations are restricted to weathered residuum and interconnected fractures at deeper levels and they have limited ground water potential. The rocks are commonly weathered to a depth of 30m under the tropical conditions in central and southern part of the peninsular region. Ground water occurs mainly in the weathered and fractured zones of rocks, within depth of less than 50m, occasionally down to 100m, and rarely below this depth. Locally deep circulation of ground water is indicated, as instanced by striking solution cavities or deeper water bearing fractures. Ground water development is largely through dug wells. The valleyfills in this region are often dependable sources of water supply. The yield of wells tapping deeper fractured zones in hard rocks varies from 2-10 lps.

iv) Coastal Area:

Coastal areas have a thick cover of alluvial deposits of Pleistocene to Recent age and form potential multi-aquifer systems in the states of Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. However, inherent quality problems and the risk of seawater ingress impose severe constrains in the development of these aquifers. In addition, the ground water over-development in these areas entails the risk of saline water ingress. Ground water prospects in these aquifers vary widely depending on the local conditions and may range from 5-25 lps.

v) Cenozoic Fault Basin and Low Rainfall Areas:

This region has been grouped separately owing to its peculiarity in terms of presence of three discrete fault basins, the Narmada, the Purna and Tapti valleys, all of which contain extensive valley fill deposits. The fill ranges in thickness from about 50 to 150 m. The aquifer systems in arid and semi-arid tracts of this region in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat receive negligible recharge from the scanty rains and the ground water occurrence in these areas is restricted to deep aquifer systems tapping fossil water. For example, in parts of Purna valley the ground water is extensively saline and unfit for various purposes. The yield potential of the wells varies from 1-10 lps.

Ground Water Resources Availability

Southern peninsular states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry; North Eastern hilly states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura; Eastern plain states – Bihar, Orissa ( part) , Eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal; Central Plateau states – Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Dadra & Nagar Haveli; North Western plain states – Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh; Western arid states – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Daman & Diu; Northern Himalayan states – Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand; Islands – Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep.

Management of Ground Water Resources

Supply Side Measures:-

As already mentioned, these measures are aimed at increasing the ground water availability, taking the environmental, social and economic factors into consideration. These are also known as ‘structural measures’, which involves scientific development and augmentation of ground water resource. Development of additional ground water resources through suitable means and augmentation of the ground water resources through artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting fall under this category. For an effective supply-side management, it is imperative to have full knowledge of the hydrologic and hydrogeologic controls that govern the yields of aquifers and behavior of ground water levels under abstraction stress. Interaction of surface and ground water and changes in flow and recharge rates are also important considerations in this regard.

(i) Scientific Development of Ground Water Resources
a) Ground Water Development in Alluvial Plains
b) Ground Water Development in Coastal Areas
c) Ground Water Development in Hard Rock Area
d) Ground Water Development in Water-logged Areas
e) Development of Flood Plain Aquifers

(ii) Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Recharge

Demand Side Measures:-

Apart from scientific development of available resources, proper ground water resources management requires to focus attention on the judicious utilization of the resources for ensuring their long-term sustainability. Ownership of ground water, need-based allocation pricing of resources, involvement of stake holders in various aspects of planning, execution and monitoring of projects and effective implementation of regulatory measures wherever necessary are the important considerations with regard to demand side ground water management.

Groundwater Development Prospects in India

Coastal Areas:-

Many parts of the coastal areas of India have thick deposits of sediments ranging in age from Pleistocene to recent, which have given rise to multi-aquifer systems of good potential. There is considerable scope for development of ground water from such aquifer systems. However, development of ground water from such aquifers needs to be done with caution and care should be taken to ensure that over-exploitation of resources does not lead to saline water intrusion.

Large diameter dug wells, filter point wells and shallow tube wells are ground water abstraction structures best suited for such aquifers. Radial wells and infiltration galleries can also be constructed in areas where the requirement of water is large. As the multi-aquifer systems in coastal areas are likely to have all possible dispositions of fresh and saline waters, it is necessary to take-up detailed studies to establish the saline–fresh water interface and establish the replenishable discharge of ground water to sea. This will ensure the implementation of ground water development plans. Further, sanctuary wells need to be constructed in hydrogeologically suitable areas to meet the unforeseen situations during cyclonic disasters as well as Tsunamis.

Water-logged Areas:-

Waterlogging and soil salinity problems, resulting from gradual rise of ground water levels, are observed in many canal command areas due to the implementation of surface water irrigation schemes without due regard to environmental considerations. As per the assessment made by the Working Group on Problem Identification with Suggested Remedial Measures (1991), about 2.46 million hectare of land under surface water irrigation projects in the country is either water-logged or under threat of it. Such areas offer good scope for further ground water development as the shallowwater table in such areas can be lowered down to six meters or more without any undesirable environmental consequences. The problems related to inferior quality of water in such areas can be solved by mixing them with the canal waters available. Judicious development through integrated use of surface and ground water resources can greatly reduce the menace of water-logging and salinity in canal irrigated areas. Such efforts will also be in line with the directives of National Water Policy which states that surface and ground water should be viewed as an integrated resource and should be developed conjunctively in coordinated manner and their use should be envisaged right from theproject planning stage.

Development from Deep Aquifers:-

The stage of ground water development is rather high in the States of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan and a large number of over-exploited and critical assessment units fall in these states. Studies by CGWB in the Indo-Gangetic basin in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal have revealed the existence of deep-seated aquifers storing voluminous quantity of ground water. Fresh ground water has been reported down to a depth of about 700 m in Uttar Pradesh. Exploratory studies carried out by ONGC in the Gangetic alluvium indicated existence of fresh ground water at more than 1000 m depth. Similarly, free flow of ground water due to artesian conditions exists in some areas like Tarai and sub-Tarai belt of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. As no energy isrequired for extraction of ground water from such aquifers, development of ground water from these auto-flow zones is both economically viable and eco-friendly.

Flood Plain Aquifers:-

Flood plains of rivers are normally good repositories of ground water and offers excellent scope for development of ground water. Ground water levels in these tracts are mostly shallow, leaving little room for accommodating the monsoon recharge, a major portion of which flows down to the river as surface (flood) and sub-surface runoff. A planned management of water resource in these tracts can capture the surplus monsoon runoff, which otherwise goes waste. The strategy involves controlled withdrawal of ground water from the flood plains during non-monsoon season to create additional space in the unsaturated zone for subsequent recharge/infiltration during rainy season.

There are two distinct conditions as regards to induced recharge from the river/stream to ground water aquifer. The first condition involves setting up a hydraulic connection between the aquifer and the river as recharge boundary due to heavy exploitation of ground water and expansion of cone of depression. This condition is common in case of perennialrivers and leads to changes in river flow conditions in the downstream.

The hydraulic connection between the river and the aquifer ceases as soon as pumping is stopped. The second scenario is more common in case of rivers having intermittent flows; the loose sediments in the flood plains are more or less saturated resulting into shallower ground water level. The heavy withdrawal of such flood plain aquifers during the non-monsoon creates ample space in the ground water reservoir which gets recharged by the river during the flood season. In absence of such created space the river water would overflow. This condition is more prevalent in Indian scenario and provides opportunity for augmentation of ground water reservoir through induced recharge.

A study in this regard was taken up in northern part of Yamuna flood plain area in Delhi (Fig.4) wherein Central Ground Water Board constructed 95 tube wells in Palla Sector in the depth range of 38-50 m for Delhi Jal Board, the domestic water supply agency of the State. On the basis of scientific studies, it was found out that nearly 30 MGD of water can be safely drawn from these tube wells during monsoon and non-monsoon seasons to meet drinking water requirements of National Capital Territory, Delhi (NIH & CGWB, 2006). In this process, a part of flood water (rejected recharge) is utilized to augment subsurface storage during monsoon.

The experience of Yamuna flood plains in Delhi has shown the scope of enhancing ground water recharge by pumping to lower the water table ahead of the rainy season and thus creating more space for the flood water to percolate. The concept can be implemented in similar situations in different parts of the country after carrying out detailed study on the ground water development prospects of the flood plains involving stream-aquifer interaction.

Alluvial Areas (Indo Gangetic Plains):-

Scientific studies have proven that ample reserve of ground water is available in the areas underlain by Indo - Gangetic and Brahmaputra alluvial plains in the northern and northeastern parts of the country. Coincidently, the ground water developments in these areas are sub-optimal, in spite of the availability of resources, and offers considerable scope for ground water development in future. In addition to the sufficient availability of replenishable ground water resources in the phreatic zone, there is a vast In-storage ground water resource in the deeper zones i.e. below the zone of ground water fluctuation. The estimates of In storage ground water resources on the prorate basis up-to a depth of 400 m works out to be 10812 bcm , out of which nearly 10633 bcm is available in the areas occupied by alluvial and unconsolidated formations. Surprisingly the three major States occupying the alluvial plains i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, has a share of the in storage ground water resources to the tune of 7652 bcm which is more than 70% of the total.

Fragmented land holdings, poor socio-economic status, poor infrastructure facilities, lack of knowledge of modern technologies are some of the reasons for the under-utilization of ground water resources in these areas , in spite of the growing need for boosting agricultural production. In this context there is an urgent need to explore various befitting options for optimal utilization of these resources.

Rainwater Harvesting and Artificial Recharge:-

Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge have now been accepted worldwide as cost-effective methods for augmenting ground water resources and for arresting/reversing the declining trends of ground water levels. Artificial recharge techniques are highly site-specific. Need, suitability of area in terms of availability of sub-surface storage space and availability of surplus monsoon run-off is important considerations for successful implementation of artificial recharge schemes.

Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge schemes implemented by various organizations in the country including Central Ground Water Board have shown encouraging results in terms of augmentation of ground water recharge, check in rate of decline of ground water levels and reduction of surplus run off. Increased sustainability of existing abstraction structures, increase in irrigation potential, revival of springs, soil conservation through increase in soil moisture and improvement in ground water quality are among other benefits of the schemes. In the coastal tracts, tidal regulators, constructed to impound the fresh water upstream and enhance the natural recharge are effective in controlling salinity ingress.

Experience gained from pilot artificial recharge schemes implemented by Central Ground Water Board in different hydrogeological settings in the country has indicated that optimal benefits can be achieved when various recharge structures are constructed at suitable locations in complete hydrological units such as watersheds, sub-basins etc.

Central Ground Water Board has also carried out studies for demarcating areas of long-term decline of ground water levels and for exploring the possibility of augmenting the ground water resources in these aquifers using available surplus monsoon runoff. An area of about 4.5 lakh sq km has been identified in the country where such augmentation measures are considered necessary. It has also been estimated that about 36 BCM of surplus monsoon runoff can be recharged into these aquifers annually (CGWB, 2002). Modification of natural movement of surface water into the aquifers through various structures like check dams, percolation ponds, recharge pits, shafts or wells are considered suitable in rural areas. On the other hand, roof-top rainwater harvesting, either for storage and direct use or forrecharge into the aquifers is suited for urban habitations with its characteristic space constraints. There is a need to shift the initiative from institutional endeavor and make it into a mass movement. Community based programmes on rain water harvesting and artificial recharge would inculcate a sense of responsibility among the stake holders, thereby enhancing the efficiency level of maintenance of the schemes.

Demand Side Measures

Regulation of Ground Water Development:

Regulation of over-exploitation of ground water through legal means can be effective under extreme situations if implemented with caution. Ground water regulatory measures in India are implemented both at Central and State level. The central Ground Water Authority, constituted under Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 is playing a key role in regulation and control of ground water development in the country. Central Ground Water Authority initially notifies over-exploited areas in a phased manner for registration of ground water abstraction structures. Based on data thus generated, vulnerable areas are notified for the purpose of ground water regulation. In these areas, construction of new ground water abstraction structures is regulated.

As water is a State subject, the management of ground water resources is a prerogative of the concerned State Government. Ministry of Water resources has prepared and circulated Model Bills to all States and Union Territories during 2005. The main thrust of these bills is to ensure that all the States and Union Territories form their own State Ground Water Authorities for proper control and regulation of ground water resources. As water is a basic need and thereby an important social issue, the regulatory mechanism needs to be transparent and people-friendly. Continuous monitoring of ground water regime is required in notified areas.

Micro-level studies needs to be taken up in such areas on a regular basis to assess the impacts of the regulatory measures on the ground water regime. Real-time dissemination of information on the ground water situation in the affected areas is to be provided to the stakeholders. Involving local people in the administrative process as social volunteers may also help.

International experiences in ground water regulation and management are varied. United States ground water management practices are more in the form of financial incentives. In Spain and Mexico, water laws are formulated making ground water a national property. However, implementation of various clauses of ground water legislation could not be effectively achieved on a large scale in these countries (Planning Commission, 2007). National and international experiences indicate that enforcement of legislative measures for ground water regulation and management would be meaningful only when stakeholders are motivated through local self governing bodies and directly involved in the decisionmakingand enforcement process.

In the present paper an attempt has been made to present the ground water development scenario and ground water development prospects in the Indo Gangetic plain taking the case studies of the State of Bihar, Punjab and West Bengal.

Prospects of Groundwater Development in Indo-Gangetic Plains

Bihar :-

Bihar is undergoing fast economic development with its impact on life style, natural resources and environment. But economic growth has persisting inadequacies. One such challenging area is agriculture, which has the key role in poverty alleviation in Bihar, where 90% population is rural. Though the state is bestowed with water and land, the state needs to substantially increase the cropping intensity and also the irrigation intensity. Assured availability of water for drinking, agriculture and industries are the key factors to determine the future economic scenario.

During the last six decades, the remarkable feature in irrigation development is the conspicuous growth in the use of groundwater. However, in Bihar at present, the groundwater meets the irrigation to only about 65 % of the gross irrigated area. It has affected the agricultural production for want of irrigations. The major credit for increase in groundwater use goes to a large extent to the farmers’ own investment and spread of groundwater market.

There are about 0.9 million shallow and about 1700 deep tube wells in operation in the state. Besides, ground water caters the entire domestic water supply for ~ 8.3 Crore population. Even then, the stage of groundwater development is only 39%. To enhance the irrigation potential ground water can safely be developed at least to the level of 60-70% as groundwater irrigation is under the direct control of the farmers and is amenable to precision agriculture and higher irrigation efficiency ( Sharma, 2009). It is essential particularly in the North Bihar Plain which gives tremendous scope owing to conducive hydrogeological condition and shallow water level. While in the South Bihar Plain, along with thedevelopment of groundwater it is necessary that the artificial recharge schemes are implemented. In this regard the status of groundwater development is discussed below.

Ground Water Development Status

Future Development Plan

Punjab:-

The State of Punjab covers an area of 50362 sq.km. The population of the State is 2,43,58,999 (2001 Census) which is constituting 2.37 % of the total population of the country. The economy of the state is primarily agro based. There are six distinct physiographic zones and the State is drained by three major rivers namely Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The State receives about 660mm normal rainfall out of which 80% occurs during southwest monsoon. July and August are the wettest months contributing about 57% of the annual rainfall. Three rivers feed a vast network of canal system in the State andeven provide water to Haryana, Rajasthan and J&K.

Punjab mainly occupies the Indo-Gangetic divide formed due to the tectonic uplift during thePleistocene. In major part of the State, depth to water level ranges between 10 to 20mbgl. Water levels within 2.0 m occur in southwestern part in state in parts of Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozpur districts. Shallow water levels, within 5m depth occur along flood plains of river Ravi, Satluj and Beas and in the south western part of the state. Depth to water level is more than 20 mbgl around major cities of the State viz. Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Moga and Sangrur. Water levels, deeper than 20m occur in Kandi areas in Hoshiarpur and Ropar districts. In the Plateau region of Garshankar block of Hoshiarpur district, it ranges between 50-180 mbgl. During the past 28 years (1975 - 2003) there is a decline in the fresh groundwater areas of the State. Out of 50,362 Sq.km area of the State, 39,000 Sq.Km area (78%) exhibits a decline in water levels, covering major part of the State which includesmost of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Moga, Faridkot, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Faridkot, major part of Mansa and northern part of Ferozepur and Bathinda districts. The fall in water levels is between 4 to 16 meters. In southwestern part of the State, covering major parts of Muktsar, southern part of Ferozepur and southwestern part of Bathinda and Mansa districts and northeastern part of the State along Siwalik hills, a rise in water level has been observed.

During the past two decades, significant water table decline has been observed in most parts of Punjab. The main cause of ground water depletion is its over-exploitation to meet the increasing demand of various sectors including Agriculture, Industry and Domestic. Extensive paddy cultivation, especially during summer months has affected the available ground water resources adversely. Due to declining water table, the tube wells have to be deepened and the farmers are shifting to the use of submersible pumps in place of centrifugal pumps being used by them till now, resulting in additional expenditure and extra power consumption. This has adversely affected the socio-economic condition ofthe small farmers. This declining water table trend, if not checked, would assume an alarming situation in the near future affecting agricultural production and thus economy of the State and the Country. The most suitable artificial recharge methods adopted are by modifying the drain beds , abandoned river channels, village ponds,tanks and sarovar water. In a Kandi tract of the State low height dams across choes are constructed for water harvesting.

The drillings carried out in 'Kandi' and 'Beet' area has revealed that these areas possess very promising water bearing zones at deeper levels. Water levels are deep seated, These areas are being developed as high technology is available to tap the ground water resources , occurring at deeper levels. The studies have shown that these areas are ground water worthy, the green revolution has started and extending to these dry areas.

Irrigation by groundwater in the State is mainly through tube wells both shallow and deep. The shallow tube wells in the depth range of, up to 50m are owned by farmers, whereas, deep tube wells are constructed by the State Government for direct irrigation and drinking purposes. In the following 12 districts, groundwater irrigation accounts for more than 50% of the total irrigation-Hoshiarpur 82%, Gurdaspur 78.55%, Amritsar 64.55%, Kapurthala 89.4%, Jalandhar 83.5%, Patiala 94%, Fatehgarh Sahib 93.55%, Sangrur 67.31%, Ludhiana 95.6%, Ferozepur 55.7%, Nawanshahar 93% and Ropar 54%.

Management Measures

West Bengal:-

The State of West Bengal is principally an agrarian state with more than 70% of its population depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. Irrigation projects account for 47.70% of the gross cropped areas of 9778815 ha (with cropping intensity 177%). Irrigation in the state is being effected through major, medium and minor irrigation programmes. About 75% of the irrigation is being done through minor irrigation schemes.

The development of agrarian economy needs expansion of irrigation facilities. The state is having huge groundwater reserve and at present the stage of groundwater development is only 42 percent of the available resources. Though huge reserve of groundwater resource is available, every drop of ground water needs proper management. Keeping the above facts in view an attempt has been made to depict the hydrogeological framework by synthesizing all the available data related to hydrogeological condition with a view to assess the ground water development prospect of the state. The Himalayan ranges from the northern boundary of the state while Bay of Bengal forms the southern boundary. Normal annual rainfall in the State ranges from 1234 mm to 4136 mm. Himalayan region receives the maximum rainfall.

The State is divided into three distinct physiographic units as

(i) Extra – Peninsular Region of the north, comprising mainly Himalayan Foot Hills, falling inDarjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Kochbehar districts
(ii) Peninsular mass of the south – west forming a Fringe of Western Plateau, covering the entire district of Purulia, western part of the districts of Barddhaman, Paschim Medinipur andBirbhum and the northern part of Bankura district
(iii) Alluvial and Deltaic plains of the south and east.
a) Deltaic zone falling in Sundarban area of the district of South 24 Parganas and in a smallpart of North 24 Parganas district and
b) Plain flat terrain falling in the remaining areas of the state.

There are three major river basins in the state namely- the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and theSubarnarekha. In the northern part of the state Teesta is the main river which along with Torsa, Jaldhaka, etc. are the tributaries of the Brahmaputra river. Mahananda is the main river meeting the Ganga in the north of the state. The state of West Bengal is covered by diverse rock types ranging from the Archaean metamorphites to the Quaternary unconsolidated sediments. Approximately two - third area of the State is covered by alluvial and deltaic deposits of Sub – Recent to Recent time and the remaining part abounds in a wide variety of hard rocks.

Nearly two-third of the state is occupied by a thick pile of unconsolidated sediments laid down by the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system, the thickness of which increases from marginal platform area in the west towards the east and southeast in the central and southern part of the basin following the configuration of Bengal Basin. These unconsolidated sediments are made up of succession of clay, silt, sand and gravel of Quaternary age overlying Mio-Pliocene sediments. The Quaternary sediments are made up of recent and older alluvium. Occurrence and movement of ground water in this hydrogeological unit is controlled by the primary porosities of the sediments.

A thick profile of in situ soft porous material develops as a disintegration product on the upper most part of the hard, consolidated rock due to weathering. Weathering imparts secondary porosity to the hard rock which either has been compact or fractured at different places under different set of conditions. Weathered mantle derived from upper part of parental hard rock, varying in thickness from

Ground Water Resources in West Bengal

Issues Related to Ground Water Development

High fluoride in ground water:

The Task Force on Fluoride Contamination had recommended rapid assessment of fluoride concentration in ground water in 105 blocks of 12 districts of West Bengal. After the assessment, the final scenario regarding the high fluoride concentration in ground water of West Bengal has been observed in 43 blocks of 7 districts, namely Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and South 24 Parganas. However this problem is most serious in Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia and Dakshin Dinajpur districts. CGWB has found fluoride contamination above the permissible limit in Nadia and Bardhaman district as well. In the state highest concentration of fluoridein groundwater has been reported from Khyarasol block (15.9mg/lit) and Rampurhat-I block(17.9mg/lit) of Birbhum district.

High salinity:-

Based on the geophysical surveys and ground water exploration, Brackish to saline and fresh water bearing aquifers have been deciphered in the different depth zones in Kolkata Municipal Corporation area, South 24 Parganas and in parts of North 24 Parganas, Haora and Purba Medinipur districts.

High iron in ground water:-

Iron content in some isolated patches of Medinipur, Haora, Hugli and Bankura iron content is somewhat higher than 1 ppm and sometimes it exists more than 2 ppm in Haora and parts of Hugli districts. Likewise, in the Himalayan foothills in the districts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri ground water in near surface aquifers have iron as high as more than 3 ppm at places.

Conclusions

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B.M.Jha

Ex-Chairman, Central Ground Water Board

S.K.Sinha

Scientist- D, Central Ground Water Board