The statement is true as per the Dynamic groundwater resources assessment 2024 conducted by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB). However, as per the latest assessment of 2025, 05 nos. of districts in Karnataka have been categorized as over-exploited, 02 nos. of districts as critical and 06 nos. of districts as semi-critical. The names of the districts under these categories as per 2025 assessment are given below:

 

Categorization	Total no. of Districts	Name of Districts
Over-Exploited	05	Kolar, Bengaluru (Urban), Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru (Rural), Chitradurga.
Critical	02	Bengaluru (South) (Erstwhile Ramanagara), Tumakuru.
Semi-Critical	06	Vijayanagara, Bagalkot, Gadag, Belagavi, Chamarajanagara, Davanagere.

 

Government of India is implementing Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in the country which is a mission mode campaign for taking up rainwater harvesting/groundwater recharge works. First JSA was launched in 2019 in water stressed blocks of 256 districts which has been made an annual affair since 2021 (across entire country both rural and urban areas) with the primary aim to effectively harvest the monsoon rainfall through creation of artificial recharge structures, watershed management, recharge and reuse structures, intensive afforestation and awareness generation, etc. Currently, JSA 2025 is being implemented in the country with special focus on 148 water scarce districts of the country, of which 102 are in over-exploited and 22 are in critical category (as per 2024 assessment). Further, all the 5 over-exploited and 4 critical districts of Karnataka as per the 2024 assessment have been included as special focus districts for JSA 2025. To further strengthen the momentum of Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB): A Community-Driven Path to Water Sustainability in India has been launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister with a vision to make rainwater harvesting a mass movement in the country. By promoting community ownership and responsibility, the initiative seeks to develop cost-effective, local solutions tailored to specific water challenges across different regions.

 

On account of a focused approach and consistent efforts, in Karnataka, construction of more than 17 lakh water conservation/harvesting and artificial recharge structures has been coordinated through Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari which has led to overall improvement in the ground water situation of the State. As per the CGWB assessment reports, the Stage of Ground water Extraction (SoE), which is defined as a ratio of total annual extractable ground water resources to total annual ground water extraction, has improved from 68.44% in 2024 to 66.49% in 2025 for the state of Karnataka. Further, all the Over-exploited, Critical and Semi Critical (OCS) districts of the state, except Chikkaballapura and Tumakuru have reported improvement in the Stage of Ground Water Extraction (SoE) between 2024 and 2025.

The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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ND

(Rajya Sabha US Q103) 

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