Switch thirsty crops, water by drip
Where most water goes to fields, moving from paddy and sugarcane to millets, pulses or maize, and from flood to drip or sprinkler irrigation, saves more than any recharge can add.
Groundwater level in Jhunjhunu
228%Over-exploited
This area pumps out 2.3 times the water that rain puts back. That is the 2025 stage of groundwater extraction: water pumped out in a year as a share of what rain and other sources safely put back. Up 10 points since 2017.
510 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
224 million m³can be taken out safely each year
286 million m³yearly shortfall drawn from stored water
69%goes to irrigation; the rest to homes and industry
Extraction since 2009
Each point is one CGWB assessment. Over-exploited means more water leaves the ground than comes back, so the water table keeps falling. Hover over or tap a point to see why it moved.
Safe · up to 70%Semi-critical · 70–90%Critical · 90–100%Over-exploited · above 100%
Show the numbers
| Year | Stage | Pumped out | Safe limit | Category | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 228.0% | 556 million m³ | 244 million m³ | Over-exploited | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 226.0% | 567 million m³ | 251 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 2% (556 → 567 million m³). Safe limit up 3% (244 → 251 million m³). |
| 2017 | 217.7% | 453 million m³ | 208 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping down 20% (567 → 453 million m³). Safe limit down 17% (251 → 208 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (463 → 368 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 210.5% | 471 million m³ | 224 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 4% (453 → 471 million m³). Safe limit up 8% (208 → 224 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2022 | 215.1% | 472 million m³ | 219 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 0% (471 → 472 million m³). Safe limit down 2% (224 → 219 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2023 | 216.7% | 479 million m³ | 221 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 1% (472 → 479 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (219 → 221 million m³). |
| 2024 | 219.6% | 491 million m³ | 224 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 3% (479 → 491 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (221 → 224 million m³). |
| 2025 | 227.6% | 510 million m³ | 224 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 4% (491 → 510 million m³). Safe limit up 0% (224 → 224 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for homes and industry (138 → 158 million m³). |
Million m³: 1 million m³ = 100 crore litres. 2009 and 2013 used the older GEC-97 method.
Loading 20 years of rainfall…
What will fix it here
Most of the water here goes to farming, so using less on fields matters as much as recharge.
Recharge pits and shafts in open land
Parks, campuses, warehouse yards and road sides can take recharge shafts that reach past the clay layer, so runoff that floods streets goes down to the aquifer instead.
Revive village ponds and johads
Desilting old ponds and opening their feeder channels restores natural recharge. A one-hectare pond that soaks in a metre of water over the monsoon puts back about a crore litres.
Rooftop rainwater recharge
Pipe roof water through a silt trap and filter into a recharge pit or an old borewell. Every 100 m² of roof puts back tens of thousands of litres a year, right where the pumping happens.
Check dams and contour trenches
On sloping or rocky land, small dams on seasonal streams and trenches along contours slow water down long enough for it to sink in.
Treat and reuse wastewater
Treated water from a sewage treatment plant can run flushing, gardens, cooling towers and construction, which today often draw on borewells.
Frequently asked questions
What is the groundwater level in Jhunjhunu?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) pumped out 228% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "over-exploited" category. That is 10 points higher than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Jhunjhunu over-exploited?
Yes. Jhunjhunu takes out more groundwater than rain and other sources put back, so the water table keeps falling.
How can groundwater be recharged in Jhunjhunu?
Rooftop rainwater harvesting into recharge pits or old borewells, recharge shafts in open land, reviving ponds, check dams, treating and reusing wastewater, and moving farms to drip irrigation and less thirsty crops.
Other districts in Rajasthan
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