Pond rejuvenation in Karnal

Karnal's ponds in numbers

• The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 200 water bodies in Karnal district, 200 of them ponds. 198 were not in use. See them on the ponds page for Karnal.
• The Haryana Water Resources Atlas 2025 maps 1,895 ponds covering 2,917 acres from satellite data, and counts 68,582 irrigation tubewells in the district.
• The Central Ground Water Board puts Karnal's groundwater use at 174% of what can safely be taken out each year (2025), which it rates over-exploited. See the groundwater page for Karnal.
• CGWB's pre-monsoon readings put water at 20–40 m below ground in most of its 24 monitoring wells in Karnal district, from 5.96 m in the shallowest to 35.9 m in the deepest. See the water table page.
• CGWB's 2023 testing found fluoride above the BIS limit in groundwater samples from the district. See the water quality page.
• Karnal gets about 843 mm of rain in an average year (2006–2025), 81% of it from June to September. See the rainfall page.

What Karnal's ponds need

Most wells in Karnal now read 20 to 40 m to water. A pond with a sealed bed does little at that depth, so desilting goes together with recharge shafts in the bed, placed where the soil logs show sand.

Karnal's ponds are mostly in its farming villages around Gharaunda, Assandh, Nilokheri, Indri and Nissing. Field drains and village drains both reach them, and the silt they bring is the main reason ponds stop recharging. A silt trap and screen on each inlet keeps the bed open.

How we rejuvenate a pond in Karnal

1. 01

   Records and survey

   We take the pond's boundary from the revenue records, then GPS-survey the bed levels, silt depth, inlets, outlets, encroachments and every drain that enters it.

2. 02

   Log the soil for shafts

   Bore logs in the pond bed find the sandy layers, so recharge shafts are placed where water actually goes down.

3. 03

   DPR and BOQ

   Storage before and after, catchment and inflow, drawings, an item-wise cost and a schedule that the owner or a CSR committee can approve. Work out the volumes first with the pond volume calculator.

4. 04

   Desilt, deepen and build

   Excavators remove the silt sealing the bed; clean silt goes to farmers' fields. Then silt traps on every inlet, earthen or stone-pitched banks, ghats and steps.

5. 05

   Plant, fence and hand over

   Plantation, fencing and signboards, then handover with as-built drawings and a yearly upkeep plan.

What pond rejuvenation costs in Karnal

Earthwork is the biggest cost. One acre dug 1 m deeper moves about 4,050 m³ of silt; where farmers nearby take it, carting costs little, and where it must be hauled away, the price rises.

The same ranges as our pond rejuvenation page, for budgeting. Silt depth, carting distance, sewage diversion and stone pitching move the price most; the survey fixes it.

Who pays for pond work in Karnal

• Gram panchayats, through MGNREGA for earthwork by village labour and Mission Amrit Sarovar.
• The Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Authority, which runs the state's pond revival and treated wastewater programs.
• The Municipal Corporation of Karnal for ponds inside the city.
• CSR: pond revival is a Schedule VII activity for companies. See CSR water conservation projects.
• Rice mills and food processing units, as part of their groundwater recharge conditions.

Where we work

All of Karnal district: Karnal city, Gharaunda, Assandh, Nilokheri, Indri, Nissing and the villages around them. We also work in Panipat.

Frequently asked questions