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 Rajsamand
121%Over-exploited
This area pumps out more water than 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. Down 1 points since 2017.
136 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
113 million m³can be taken out safely each year
23.3 million m³yearly shortfall drawn from stored water
78%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 | 127.0% | 118 million m³ | 93.2 million m³ | Over-exploited | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 106.0% | 119 million m³ | 112 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 0% (118 → 119 million m³). Safe limit up 20% (93 → 112 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2017 | 121.4% | 123 million m³ | 101 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 4% (119 → 123 million m³). Safe limit down 10% (112 → 101 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 119.0% | 123 million m³ | 104 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 0% (123 → 123 million m³). Safe limit up 2% (101 → 104 million m³). |
| 2022 | 121.6% | 125 million m³ | 102 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 1% (123 → 125 million m³). Safe limit down 1% (104 → 102 million m³). |
| 2023 | 123.4% | 129 million m³ | 104 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 3% (125 → 129 million m³). Safe limit up 2% (102 → 104 million m³). |
| 2024 | 125.1% | 133 million m³ | 106 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 3% (129 → 133 million m³). Safe limit up 2% (104 → 106 million m³). |
| 2025 | 120.7% | 136 million m³ | 113 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 2% (133 → 136 million m³). Safe limit up 6% (106 → 113 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
Million m³: 1 million m³ = 100 crore litres. 2009 and 2013 used the older GEC-97 method.
Loading 20 years of rainfall…
Ponds and lakes in Rajsamand
90 of 555 water bodies (16%) are not in use: dried up, silted, built over or polluted. Bringing them back is one of the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.
Loading the map of water bodies in Rajsamand…
- Ponds172
- Tanks255
- Reservoirs2
- Check dams and percolation tanks86
- Others40
Source: 1st Census of Water Bodies, Ministry of Jal Shakti (counted in 2018-19, published 2023).
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 Rajsamand?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Rajsamand (Rajasthan) pumped out 121% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "over-exploited" category. That is 1 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Rajsamand over-exploited?
Yes. Rajsamand takes out more groundwater than rain and other sources put back, so the water table keeps falling.
How can groundwater be recharged in Rajsamand?
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.
How many ponds and lakes are there in Rajsamand?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 555 water bodies in Rajsamand, including 172 ponds. 90 of them were not in use.
Other districts in Rajasthan
Jaisalmer322%Jodhpur255%Dausa233%Jhunjhunu228%Jaipur217%Sikar191%Nagaur187%Alwar182%Jalor178%Chittaurgarh162%Pali158%Bhilwara156%Sawai Madhopur152%Karauli149%Bikaner141%Ajmer138%Dhaulpur138%Baran135%Barmer135%Pratapgarh129%Churu129%Sirohi119%Bharatpur117%Kota111%Jhalawar106%Udaipur100%Bundi96%Tonk91%Banswara70%Hanumangarh65%Dungarpur61%Ganganagar40%