Census of water bodies
Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Census of water bodies is the first all-India count of ponds, tanks, lakes and reservoirs. The Ministry of Jal Shakti released this first edition in 2023. It counted about 24.2 lakh water bodies and recorded where each one is, what it is used for and what state it is in. This matters because many small water bodies are slowly being lost. Some are encroached (taken over illegally for buildings or farms), and others are simply no longer used. A count gives planners a starting point for reviving them.
Example
Most of the water bodies counted are ponds in villages. West Bengal has the largest number of any state, because village ponds there are widely used for fishing, bathing and irrigation (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Dynamic Ground Water Resource Assessment: it measures underground water (recharge and pumping) every year. The Census of water bodies counts surface water bodies such as ponds and tanks.