New Delhi, Oct 19 Minor irrigation schemes increased in several states, with Uttar Pradesh recording the highest number at 44.29 lakh while eight states reported a decline in their numbers, according to the seventh Minor Irrigation Census report.
The declines were recorded in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Manipur, Keralam, Jharkhand, Mizoram and Tripura, while Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra registered increases of 11.38 per cent, 9.84 per cent, 9.6 per cent and 7.15 per cent respectively compared with the sixth census.
The Seventh Minor Irrigation Census Report, Volume II, Part II, covers 20 states and Union Territories (UTs) that completed their census work earlier. UP recorded 44.29 lakh schemes, followed by Maharashtra with 38.28 lakh, Tamil Nadu with 20.81 lakh and Telangana with 18.41 lakh.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil released the report on September 25 during the valedictory session of the ninth India International Water Week at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
UP reported 44.29 lakh schemes in the seventh census, compared with 39.76 lakh in the sixth census. Groundwater schemes accounted for 44.04 lakh, or 99.43 per cent, of the state’s total, while surface-water schemes numbered 25,062.
Shallow tube wells formed the largest category in UP, with 35.80 lakh schemes, accounting for 80.83 per cent of the total. The state also had 6.17 lakh medium tube wells, 1.25 lakh deep tube wells, 77,324 dug wells and 4,482 artesian wells.
The report said 40.18 lakh schemes in UP were in use. Of these, 37,266 were underutilised due to various constraints, while the remaining 99 per cent were functioning without reported constraints. Among the schemes in use, 39.97 lakh were groundwater schemes and 20,437 were surface-water schemes.
Groundwater recharge was undertaken through 1,09,964 (1.09 lakh) irrigation schemes in UP, including 1,04,071 (1.04 lakh) groundwater schemes and 5,893 surface-water schemes. Minor irrigation schemes totalling 1.53 lakh, or about 3.46 per cent of the state’s total, were also used for drinking water supply, with groundwater schemes being the primary source.
Maharashtra recorded 38.28 lakh minor irrigation schemes, up from 35.73 lakh in the sixth census. Groundwater schemes accounted for 34.41 lakh, or 89.89 per cent, while surface-water schemes numbered 3.87 lakh.
The report said 38.04 lakh schemes in Maharashtra were in use, of which 7.42 lakh were underutilised for various reasons. It also recorded 2,75,862 (2.75 lakh) schemes being used for groundwater recharge, including 2,55,028 (2.55 lakh) groundwater schemes and 20,834 surface-water schemes. In addition, 5.03 lakh schemes, constituting about 13.15 per cent of the state’s total, were also used for drinking-water supply.
Telangana reported 18.41 lakh schemes, compared with 16.80 lakh in the sixth census. Of these, 17.46 lakh were groundwater schemes and 94,370 were surface-water schemes.
Andhra Pradesh recorded 13.08 lakh schemes, up from 11.91 lakh in the sixth census. Groundwater schemes numbered 12.43 lakh, accounting for 95.03 per cent of the total, while surface-water schemes stood at 65,027. The report said the increase in groundwater schemes was primarily driven by deep tube wells. Surface-water schemes also increased from 58,195 to 65,027, with surface-flow schemes rising from 47,590 to 53,681.
Rajasthan reported 13.77 lakh schemes, including 13.62 lakh groundwater schemes and 15,341 surface-water schemes. The report recorded a 7.6 per cent decline in groundwater schemes and a five per cent decline in surface-water schemes compared with the sixth census.
However, surface-flow schemes increased by 221 per cent, while surface-lift schemes declined by about 50 per cent.
Tamil Nadu recorded 20.81 lakh schemes, down 1.63 per cent from 21.15 lakh in the sixth census. Groundwater schemes accounted for 20.43 lakh, or 98.17 per cent, of the total, while surface-water schemes numbered 37,991. The number of groundwater schemes declined from 20.71 lakh, while surface-water schemes fell from 44,091.
Punjab reported 11.58 lakh schemes, compared with 11.75 lakh in the sixth census. Groundwater schemes accounted for 11.57 lakh, while surface-water schemes numbered 1,369. The report said surface-water schemes had declined from 1,732 in the previous census.
Keralam recorded 71,799 schemes, down 22.44 per cent from 92,574 in the sixth census. The state had 47,230 groundwater schemes and 24,569 surface-water schemes. Groundwater schemes declined from 62,453, while surface-water schemes fell from 30,121.
Jharkhand reported 2.17 lakh schemes, compared with 2.53 lakh in the sixth census. These included 1.48 lakh groundwater schemes and 68,811 surface-water schemes.
Manipur recorded 762 schemes against 971 in the sixth census, comprising 417 groundwater and 345 surface-water schemes. Mizoram reported 1,570 schemes, compared with 2,480 earlier. While groundwater schemes in Mizoram increased from 61 to 220, surface-water schemes declined from 2,419 to 1,350.
Tripura recorded 4,982 schemes, compared with 5,273 in the sixth census. Groundwater schemes increased from 2,747 to 3,382, while surface-water schemes declined from 2,526 to 1,600.
Minor irrigation schemes are those using groundwater or surface water and having an individual culturable command area of up to 2,000 hectares. The categories covered include dug wells, shallow tube wells, medium tube wells, deep tube wells, surface-flow schemes and surface-lift schemes.
The seventh Minor Irrigation Census uses 2023-24 as its reference year and was launched in April 2025. The exercise adopted digital data collection through a mobile application, with enumerators recording the latitude and longitude and photographs of schemes.
(PTI News)
