HYDERABAD

Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has called for steps to strengthen groundwater governance, tighten restrictions in over-exploited areas, improve rainwater harvesting and intensify inter-departmental regulation of groundwater extraction.

At a meeting held here on Friday, he reviewed the functioning of the Groundwater Department which was attended by Irrigation Secretary E. Sridhar, senior departmental officials and hydrology experts. One of the key decisions taken during the meeting was to direct all District Collectors to convene district-level groundwater committees to strengthen the institutions and ensure regular monitoring of extraction and recharge patterns.

Officials of the Groundwater Department explained to the Minister that the groundwater table recharge had improved significantly during 2025. The annual recharge was estimated at 19.61 lakh hectare-metres compared to 18.44 lakh hectare-metres in 2024 with an increase of nearly 1.17 lakh hectare-metres. However, extraction had also risen sharply from 8.45 lakh hectare-metres to 9.18 lakh hectare-metres during the same period.

The Minister also ordered that all over-exploited villages identified in the latest groundwater assessment be formally communicated to district administrations with instructions to restrict further borewell drilling and additional groundwater extraction. Officials said groundwater stress was concentrated in 16 districts with Hyderabad itself reporting eight mandals in the over-exploited category.

Another important issue discussed was the need for stronger consultation with the Groundwater Department before approving sand mining operations. The State currently monitors groundwater levels through 1,771 piezometers, 352 observation wells, 921 command-area observation wells and 64 stream-flow checkpoints.