Dishant Parakh and Sriroop Chaudhuri
Abstract
Over-reliance on groundwater resources for irrigation has helped achieving food/nutritional targets, at the expense of growing increased vulnerability of water resources in the northwest Indian states. In this reconnaissance study, we take Sonipat district, Haryana as a microcosm, to evaluate potential impacts of Haryana State Groundwater Management and Regulation Bill, 2008 and Haryana Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act 2009, to understand future requirements of groundwater resources conservation/management. Well level groundwater level (GWL) information was obtained from the Central Groundwater Boardââ¬â¢s archive, between 1996 and 2018, disaggregated by tehshils and growing seasons. Results indicated statistically significant (p<0.05) ââ¬Ëshallowingââ¬â¢ of median GWLs in the Post-Bill periods (2009-2013 and 2014-2018) in the Sonipat and Ganaur tehshils, for all growing seasons, which might gratify the authorities about ââ¬Ësuccessââ¬â¢ of the two Regulatory Bills to conserve groundwater. However, (i) presence of ââ¬Ëoutliersââ¬â¢ in Sonipat and Ganaur tehshils (deeper GWLs); (ii) dropping monitoring efficiency over years; and (iii) growing water resources vulnerability by predictive geostatistical modeling, question the above. For future conservation efforts, we urge the authorities to integrate three spheres: (1) Process-based Groundwater Research and Development; (2) Creating an Enabling Environment at Grassroots; and (3) Policy Appraisal and Institutional Changes.