About Central Ground Water Board (CGWB):
- It is a multidisciplinary scientific organization of the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
- It is the National Apex Agency entrusted with the responsibilities of providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation, and regulation of groundwater resources of the country.
- It was established in 1970 by renaming the Exploratory Tube wells Organization under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
- It was merged with the Ground Water Wing of the Geological Survey of India during 1972.
- Mandate: Develop and disseminate technologies and monitor and implement national policies for the scientific and sustainable development and management of India’s groundwater resources.
- Organization Setup:
- It is headed by the Chairman and has five members.
- CGWB is a multidisciplinary scientific organization consisting of Hydrogeologists, Geophysicists, Chemists, Hydrologists, Hydrometeorologists, and Engineers.
- It has four main wings, namely
- Sustainable Management & Liaison (SML)
- Survey, Assessment & Monitoring (SAM)
- Exploratory Drilling & Materials Management (ED&MM)
- Water Quality & Training and Technology Transfer (WQ&TT).
- Headquarters: Bhujal Bhawan, Faridabad, Haryana.
- The major activities of the CGWB are:
- National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) involving the preparation of Aquifer Maps and Management Plans.
- Groundwater explorations to delineate groundwater-worthy areas and potential aquifers.
- Geophysical surveys to delineate groundwater bearing zones, etc.
- Periodic assessment of the country’s groundwater resources.
- Monitoring of groundwater levels and quality through groundwater observation wells.
- Dissemination of Ground Water Data and knowledge.
- Groundwater modelling.
- GIS and Remote sensing.
- Regulation and control of groundwater development and management by Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) in coordination with State Government Organizations.
- Coordination with the State Government with a view to establish benchmark methodologies for groundwater studies.
- R&D studies in the ground water sector and application and operationalization of new technologies/techniques for groundwater investigation, development, and management.
- Water conservation and artificial recharge to groundwater.
- Capacity building and knowledge transfer.
