
Springs and spring-sheds to be counted in next minor irrigation census

Summary
- Hill states are home to springs that feed into rivers flowing from the Himalayan mountains.
New Delhi: The government plans to count springs and their sheds in the seventh minor irrigation (MI) census expected to start next month, two officials said.
A spring-shed is a land area with groundwater that contributes to a spring.
This comes in the backdrop of concerns around water security. The government is trying to estimate consumption of water and other usage in hill states, which are home to springs that feed into rivers flowing from the Himalayan mountains.
However, rapid urbanization has led to a depletion of spring water, which have either dried up or become seasonal where they once were perennial sources of water. In addition problems such as open defecation and sewage are polluting mountain springs.
Water security is a non-traditional threat due to the interlinkages between water and other critical sectors such as agriculture, energy, health and the environment. The country faces a range of water-related challenges, including water scarcity, pollution, floods and droughts, which have significant impacts on various aspects of society and the economy.
Also read: About 23 million minor irrigation schemes counted
“In the regular MI survey, we considered counting minor irrigation structures like ponds and tanks, among others. Then we added lakes and other things which were not there earlier. This time, we are planning to count spring and spring-sheds as well," one of the officials said.
“Springs are water bearing bodies which are there in the hilly areas. In the non-hilly or the plain areas, the springs may not be there. And if you are not counting in a way you are not considering that part of the population in terms of the policy decisions befitting for them," the official added.
“They rely on spring water for their daily requirements including drinking water. Once you have the census of such springs and their characteristics, appropriate action can be taken for those springs from the sustainability angle. As of now suppose if we want to take any decision for springs, we do not have any data," the official further said.
Use of MI census
MI census provides a comprehensive and reliable database in the minor irrigation sector for effective planning and policymaking. The census is useful for planners, policy makers, researcher scholars, agricultural and ground water scientists, administrators & all concerned with development of irrigation and agricultural economy of the country
The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Jal Shakti ministry has been conducting census of minor irrigation schemes. So far, six censuses have been conducted with reference years 1986-87, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2006-07, 2013-14 and 2017-18 respectively. The 6th minor irrigation census was completed with a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 32 States and UTs in 2023.
Also read: Govt focuses on traditional crops to enhance climate-resilient agriculture
“The seventh census will begin next month (February) and may take a year to be completed," the second official informed.
“We are not only doing the census. We are also doing water estimate and catchment area in our next MI report," the official added.
Queries sent to the spokesperson and secretary of the water resources, river development and ganga rejuvenation department remained unanswered at press time.
As per the sixth census on minor irrigation schemes report, 23.14 million minor irrigation schemes have been reported in the country, out of which 21.93 million (94.8%) are ground water and 1.21 million (5.2%) are surface water schemes.
Dug wells have the highest share in MI schemes followed by shallow tube-wells, medium tube-wells and deep tube-wells. Out of all MI schemes, 97.0% are ‘in use’, 2.1% are ‘temporarily not in use’ whereas 0.9% are ‘permanently not in use’. Shallow tube-wells and medium tube-wells lead in the category of ‘in use’ schemes. Most MI schemes (96.6%) are under private ownership. In groundwater schemes, the share of private entities in the ownership is 98.3% whereas in surface water schemes the respective share is 64.2%.