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Ponds and lakes

Ponds and lakes in India

India counted 24,24,540 water bodies in its first census of them, 14,42,993 of them ponds. 3,94,500 were no longer in use. Look up your district to see how many it has, where they are, and which ones could be brought back.

What the census counted across India

3,94,500 of 24,24,540 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.

24,24,540ponds, tanks, lakes and other water bodies
14,42,993of them are ponds (60%)
84%still in use (20,30,040)
38,496encroached upon
  • Ponds14,42,993
  • Tanks3,81,805
  • Lakes22,361
  • Reservoirs2,92,280
  • Check dams and percolation tanks2,26,217
  • Others58,884

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

Districts with the most ponds

Out of 603 districts with a page.

  1. 1HaoraWest Bengal · 37,301 water bodies, 21% not in use36,861
  2. 2Paschim MedinipurWest Bengal · 35,467 water bodies, 10% not in use35,040
  3. 3BirbhumWest Bengal · 33,968 water bodies, 18% not in use33,692
  4. 4Purba BarddhamanWest Bengal · 33,181 water bodies, 10% not in use32,493
  5. 5Dakshin DinajpurWest Bengal · 30,939 water bodies, 9% not in use30,549
  6. 6HugliWest Bengal · 26,894 water bodies, 21% not in use26,590
  7. 7Purba MedinipurWest Bengal · 25,952 water bodies, 6% not in use24,145
  8. 8BankuraWest Bengal · 24,846 water bodies, 7% not in use23,746
  9. 9Koch BiharWest Bengal · 21,881 water bodies, 3% not in use20,733
  10. 10PuruliyaWest Bengal · 20,867 water bodies, 10% not in use20,395
  11. 11MurshidabadWest Bengal · 18,674 water bodies, 13% not in use17,932
  12. 12DibrugarhAssam · 14,037 water bodies, 1% not in use13,877
  13. 13NadiaWest Bengal · 13,874 water bodies, 19% not in use13,499
  14. 14SitapurUttar Pradesh · 12,530 water bodies, 23% not in use12,521
  15. 15BalasoreOdisha · 16,804 water bodies, 2% not in use12,456
  16. 16MaldaWest Bengal · 11,903 water bodies, 7% not in use11,669
  17. 17KendraparaOdisha · 12,509 water bodies, 8% not in use11,628
  18. 18KokrajharAssam · 10,835 water bodies, 0% not in use10,832
  19. 19KarimganjAssam · 10,589 water bodies, 0% not in use10,530
  20. 20DhubriAssam · 10,509 water bodies, 2% not in use10,296

States

Ranked by number of ponds. Pick one to see its districts.

  1. 1West Bengal7,47,480 water bodies, 6% not in use4,57,274
  2. 2Uttar Pradesh2,45,087 water bodies, 27% not in use2,39,912
  3. 3Assam1,72,492 water bodies, 2% not in use1,68,520
  4. 4Odisha1,81,837 water bodies, 11% not in use94,025
  5. 5Jharkhand1,07,598 water bodies, 12% not in use87,080
  6. 6Madhya Pradesh82,643 water bodies, 55% not in use79,818
  7. 7Kerala55,734 water bodies, 16% not in use51,007
  8. 8Tamil Nadu1,06,957 water bodies, 47% not in use38,321
  9. 9Tripura36,239 water bodies, 0% not in use36,070
  10. 10Bihar45,793 water bodies, 50% not in use35,027
  11. 11Chhattisgarh34,000 water bodies, 15% not in use32,893
  12. 12Telangana64,055 water bodies, 19% not in use27,003
  13. 13Punjab16,012 water bodies, 52% not in use15,064
  14. 14Haryana14,898 water bodies, 41% not in use14,376
  15. 15Andhra Pradesh1,90,777 water bodies, 22% not in use14,132
  16. 16Meghalaya13,332 water bodies, 5% not in use10,564
  17. 17Rajasthan16,939 water bodies, 21% not in use8,046
  18. 18Karnataka27,013 water bodies, 78% not in use6,431
  19. 19Jammu and Kashmir9,765 water bodies, 23% not in use5,256
  20. 20Gujarat54,069 water bodies, 0% not in use4,711
  21. 21Andaman and Nicobar3,528 water bodies, 5% not in use3,469
  22. 22Himachal Pradesh88,017 water bodies, 14% not in use3,247
  23. 23Uttarakhand3,096 water bodies, 23% not in use2,514
  24. 24Manipur1,658 water bodies, 3% not in use1,556
  25. 25Mizoram2,185 water bodies, 6% not in use1,305
  26. 26Nagaland1,432 water bodies, 4% not in use1,298
  27. 27Puducherry1,171 water bodies, 41% not in use976
  28. 28Maharashtra97,062 water bodies, 1% not in use898
  29. 29Goa1,463 water bodies, 25% not in use864
  30. 30Arunachal Pradesh993 water bodies, 13% not in use737
  31. 31Delhi893 water bodies, 73% not in use525
  32. 32Sikkim134 water bodies, 10% not in use65
  33. 33Chandigarh188 water bodies, 0% not in use9

Bringing a pond back

Most ponds that are not in use can be revived. The work is the same in a village or a city sector:

Step 1

Survey

Map the pond's full original area, its inlets and its catchment, and record encroachments and sewage outfalls.

Step 2

Desilt

Dig out the silt that has sealed the bed, so water soaks into the ground again instead of evaporating.

Step 3

Reconnect

Clear and line the channels that bring rain in, with a silt trap before the pond; divert sewage away from it.

Step 4

Recharge

Add recharge shafts or wells in the bed where the soil is tight, so water reaches the aquifer faster.

Step 5

Protect

Fence or plant the banks, mark the boundary and hand upkeep to the panchayat or residents' body.

Talk to TerraSetu about a pondPond rejuvenation: cost and processOther ways to recharge