Centre conducts first water bodies' census
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New Delhi: The government of India has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies. It provided a comprehensive inventory of the country's water resources. This includes natural and man-made water bodies.
About 2,424,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country. 97.1% are in rural areas and only 2.9% are in urban areas. 59.5% of water bodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7%), reservoirs (12.1%), Water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams (9.3%), lakes (0.9%), and others (2.5%).
The goal is to collect data on the encroachment of water bodies. 55.2% of water bodies are owned by private entities and 44.8% of water bodies are in the domain of public ownership.
The census highlighted the disparities between rural and urban areas and the varying levels of encroachment. It also provided crucial insights into the country's water resources, reported ANI.
Most water bodies are in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam. They together constitute around 63% of the total water bodies in India. Most water bodies in urban areas are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Tripura. In terms of rural areas, the top five spots go to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam.