State

Groundwater level in Rajasthan

Name: Groundwater extraction in Rajasthan, 2009–2025
Creator: Central Ground Water Board

147%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. Up 7 points since 2017.

17.1 billion m³pumped out each year (2025)

11.6 billion m³can be taken out safely each year

5.5 billion m³yearly shortfall drawn from stored water

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	135.0%	14.5 billion m³	10.8 billion m³	Over-exploited	First assessment in this series.
2013	140.0%	15.7 billion m³	11.3 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 8% (14.5 → 15.7 billion m³). Safe limit up 4% (10.8 → 11.3 billion m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out.
2017	139.9%	16.8 billion m³	12.0 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 7% (15.7 → 16.8 billion m³). Safe limit up 6% (11.3 → 12.0 billion m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method.
2020	150.2%	16.6 billion m³	11.1 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 1% (16.8 → 16.6 billion m³). Safe limit down 8% (12.0 → 11.1 billion m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground.
2022	151.1%	16.6 billion m³	11.0 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 0% (16.6 → 16.6 billion m³). Safe limit down 1% (11.1 → 11.0 billion m³).
2023	148.8%	16.7 billion m³	11.3 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 1% (16.6 → 16.7 billion m³). Safe limit up 3% (11.0 → 11.3 billion m³).
2024	149.9%	17.1 billion m³	11.4 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 2% (16.7 → 17.1 billion m³). Safe limit up 1% (11.3 → 11.4 billion m³).
2025	147.1%	17.1 billion m³	11.6 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 0% (17.1 → 17.1 billion m³). Safe limit up 2% (11.4 → 11.6 billion m³).

Million m³: 1 million m³ = 100 crore litres. 2009 and 2013 used the older GEC-97 method.

Rainfall, last 20 years

Yearly rain at Rajasthan, 2006–2025, from NASA satellite data. Lighter bars are dry years (20% or more below average), when wells are drawn hardest.

What it takes to refill

To stop the water table falling, Rajasthan has to put back or save 5.5 billion m³ a year. At 442 mm of rain, here is what that looks like:

15,49,77,376roofs of 100 m² with recharge pits (35,360 L each a year)

24,796 km²of land draining into recharge structures that capture half the rain

9.0 billion m³less pumping a year to reach the 70% safe mark, if nothing else changes

In practice it is a mix: recharge in towns, ponds and check dams in villages, and saving water on farms and in factories.

Your building: how much can you recharge?

Roof or yard area (m²)SurfaceYearly rainfall (mm)

Water you can put back each year75,140 L≈ 7.5 water tankers of 10,000 L

1 mm of rain on 1 m² is 1 litre. The surface factor allows for water lost to splash, evaporation and first-flush.

Loading 20 years of rainfall…

Ponds and lakes in Rajasthan

3,523 of 16,939 water bodies (21%) are not in use: dried up, silted, built over or polluted. Bringing them back is one of the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.

16,939ponds, tanks, lakes and other water bodies

8,046of them are ponds (47%)

79%still in use (13,416)

47encroached upon

Ponds8,046
Tanks5,639
Lakes66
Reservoirs132
Check dams and percolation tanks1,481
Others1,575

Source: 1st Census of Water Bodies, Ministry of Jal Shakti (counted in 2018-19, published 2023).

All about the ponds and lakes in Rajasthan, district by district

What will fix it here

Most of the water here goes to homes and industry, so rooftop recharge and reuse make the biggest difference.

Recharge · start here

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.

Recharge · start here

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.

Recharge

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.

Use less

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.

Recharge

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.

Use less

Meter borewells and fix leaks

Metered and registered borewells, leak repairs in supply lines and water-efficient fixtures cut pumping without anyone going short.

Frequently asked questions

What is the groundwater level in Rajasthan?

In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Rajasthan pumped out 147% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "over-exploited" category. That is 7 points higher than in 2017.

Is groundwater in Rajasthan over-exploited?

Yes. Rajasthan takes out more groundwater than rain and other sources put back, so the water table keeps falling.

How can groundwater be recharged in Rajasthan?

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 Rajasthan?

The first Census of Water Bodies counted 16,939 water bodies in Rajasthan, including 8,046 ponds. 3,523 of them were not in use.

Districts of Rajasthan

Stage of extraction in 2025, most over-pumped first.