At a time when the state is facing rain deficit, a large-scale pumping of water from the ground, especially in north Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch, has led to a groundwater deficit of around 30 billion cubic metres, says a report on the groundwater resources of the state. According to the report, the continued pumping of groundwater may lead to scarcity of water if there are successive droughts in the state.

The farmers in the state use around 1,200 crore units of electricity every year to pump out groundwater, of which about two-third is used by the farmers in north Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch alone. The farmers in these areas draw water by pumping as deep as eight metres and there is no recharging.

“There is no balance. The pumping in the area is much higher than recharging of the groundwater. This has led to a groundwater deficit of 30 billion cubic metre in the state. The deficit is increasing every year,” said Tushar Shah, principal scientist, International Water Management Institute of India. He was also the chairman of the committee that submitted the report to the government last month.

It said that groundwater recharge is more effective in irrigating the land in comparison to large projects and dams such as Sardar Sarovar. The report further said over 30 billion cubic metre of water accumulated in dams, including Sardar Sarvoar, can irrigate only seven lakh hectares of land, while 12 billion cubic metres of groundwater in the state will be able to serve 28 lakh hectares of irrigation.

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