Groundwater Resources and Sustainable Management Issues in India

Abstract

Groundwater is a critical component for socioeconomic development in India. The country exhibits wide spectrum on geology, climatic condition, and terrain, which is reflected in considerable variation in groundwater occurrence and movement. In addition, excessive withdrawal, in comparison with its annual replenishment, has created overexploitation of this precious natural resource, obliterating natural groundwater regime in large areas of the country. Besides, in many parts, the groundwater is contaminated both geogenically and anthro-pogenically. India as a country has established himself as the largest groundwater extractor in the world. The looming issues of overexploitation and deteriorating quality call for sustainable management of groundwater resource in long-term perspective. With the preamble on the review of the hydrogeology of the country, this paper summarizes 20 contributions that have been included in this volume. The papers are rich in their content and present a wide array of groundwater issues of the country, ranging from quality, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, artificial recharge, community participation in its management, urban hydrogeology, coastal aquifer dynamics, mining hydrogeology, and application of state-of-the-art investigation techniques in groundwater survey and management. The aroma of the volume will enrich which are directly or indirectly linked with groundwater resource management of the country.