The recent water contamination incident in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has once again drawn national attention to India’s growing groundwater crisis. In the Bhagirathpura locality, contaminated drinking water allegedly caused by sewage leakage led to a serious outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea. More than a dozen people lost their lives and several others were hospitalised, turning the situation into a public health emergency.
This was not an isolated incident. In 2025 alone, Indore recorded 266 complaints related to water quality. Earlier reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2019 and 2022 had already flagged major weaknesses in urban water management systems in Indore and Bhopal. These events underline a larger and more worrying reality: groundwater, which supplies a significant share of India’s drinking water, is under severe stress, both in quantity and quality.
Groundwater plays a central role in India’s water security. It meets about 45 per cent of urban water needs, nearly 85 per cent of rural drinking water requirements, and more than 60 per cent of irrigation demand for agriculture. Any disruption in its availability or quality therefore has direct consequences for public health, food production, livelihoods and economic stability.
India is currently the world’s largest extractor of groundwater, drawing nearly 230 cubic kilometres every year. This alone accounts for more than one-fourth of global groundwater extraction. According to the Central Ground Water Board and state government assessments for 2025, India receives around 448.52 billion cubic metres of groundwater recharge annually, while extraction stands at about 247.22 billion cubic metres. Although recharge has increased slightly since 2017, the pressure on groundwater continues to grow.
Regional data shows alarming trends. Out of 6,762 assessment units across the country, 730 are classified as over-exploited, meaning extraction exceeds recharge. Another 201 units are in the critical category, while 758 are semi-critical. Only about 73 per cent of units are currently considered safe, and 127 units have saline groundwater.
States such as Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan face severe over-extraction, Delhi is in the critical category, and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are semi-critical. Several large states, including Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, also have a high number of stressed groundwater units.
Rapid urbanisation, population growth, industrial demand and unsustainable agricultural practices are major drivers of water stress. The Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra plains, which cover only 20 per cent of India’s land area, hold nearly 60 per cent of its groundwater reserves due to thick alluvial aquifers. However, intensive cultivation of water-heavy crops like rice and sugarcane has led to indiscriminate groundwater withdrawal in these regions.
In contrast, central and southern India depend largely on hard-rock aquifers, which recharge slowly and are far more vulnerable to depletion. Coastal regions face an additional threat in the form of seawater intrusion, where excessive pumping allows saline water to enter freshwater aquifers. As groundwater levels fall, both availability and quality suffer.
Water quality degradation has become a nationwide concern. The CGWB’s 2024 groundwater quality report revealed that more than 440 districts have groundwater contaminated by substances such as nitrates, fluoride, arsenic, uranium and heavy metals. Agricultural chemicals, industrial waste, untreated sewage and naturally occurring elements are the main sources of pollution. While national standards such as IS 10500 define acceptable limits for drinking water, treatment and enforcement remain uneven across regions.
The health impacts of contaminated groundwater are severe. Excess fluoride can cause dental and skeletal fluorosis, high nitrate levels can lead to blue baby syndrome in infants, and exposure to arsenic, lead and uranium can result in neurological damage, cancer risks and kidney disorders. These health burdens disproportionately affect poorer and more vulnerable communities, adding to medical expenses and deepening inequality.
Environmental consequences are equally serious. Over-extraction can cause soil salinisation, reducing agricultural productivity. Falling groundwater levels disrupt river flows, damage wetlands and alter aquatic ecosystems. In some areas, excessive extraction has led to land subsidence, where the ground slowly sinks, damaging buildings, roads and other infrastructure.
Water management in India is primarily a state responsibility, but the central government has introduced several schemes to address groundwater stress. Programmes such as Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari focus on recharge, conservation and community participation. While these initiatives have improved awareness and water availability in some regions, gaps remain in monitoring, regulation and enforcement.
There is a growing need to strengthen national surveillance of groundwater extraction and contamination. Urban sewage management must be improved to prevent untreated waste from polluting water sources. In over-exploited areas, strict limits on groundwater withdrawal are essential, along with incentives for water-efficient farming practices and crop diversification. Promoting drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge structures can reduce pressure on aquifers.
Groundwater depletion and contamination threaten India’s long-term water security, agricultural sustainability and public health. While water governance remains decentralised, stronger coordination between states and the centre is necessary. Continuous monitoring, better regulation and a shift towards sustainable water use practices are crucial.
As the Prime Minister has emphasised, adopting the principles of reduce, reuse, recharge and recycle will be key to securing India’s water future and preventing tragedies like the one witnessed in Indore from recurring.