Over-exploited groundwater units, CGWB 2025
The Central Ground Water Board's 2025 assessment categorises 730 of 6,762 units (10.8 per cent) as over-exploited, down from 751 of 6,746 in 2024. Punjab has 111 of 153 units over-exploited (72.5 per cent), Rajasthan 213 of 302 (70.5), Haryana 91 of 143 (63.6), Tamil Nadu 103 of 313 (32.9), Delhi 10 of 34 (29.4) and Karnataka 45 of 237 (19.0). Twenty-one states and territories have none.
Policy implication
Over-exploited means yearly extraction exceeds yearly replenishable recharge. A unit is a block, taluk or mandal depending on the state, so units differ in size and a state with a handful of units can swing on one. A state average hides which parts of it are depleted, and the count says nothing about how much water is left. The stage of extraction for each state is on its own map.
Over-exploited means yearly extraction exceeds yearly replenishable recharge. A unit is a block, taluk or mandal depending on the state, so units differ in size and a state with a handful of units can swing on one. A state average hides which parts of it are depleted, and the count says nothing about how much water is left. The stage of extraction for each state is on its own map.
Data vintage. The figures are for 2025 and have not been refreshed since this map was made.
Source: CGWB National Compilation 2025 (2025). See the methodology for notes and limitations.
Part of ImpactMojo. Maps are pedagogical tools for facilitated discussion, not standalone data references. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.