Vikash Sharma

Do you know how many water bodies are there in the country? Well the Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies across the nation. As per the census findings, around 24,24,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country. Out of total water bodies, around 97.1% (23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) are in urban areas.

While the state of West Bengal has the highest number of water bodies in India, Sikkim has the lowest. Top 5 States in terms of number of water bodies in rural areas are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam. These states constitute around 63% of the total water bodies in the country.

Water Body Census Water Body Census

 

Major Highlights

Top 5 States in terms of number of water bodies in urban areas- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura.

Top 5 states in terms of water bodies in rural areas- West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam. Around 59.5% of water bodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7%), reservoirs (12.1%), Water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams (9.3%), lakes (0.9%) and others (2.5%).

About 55.2% of water bodies are owned by private entities whereas 44.8% of water bodies are in the domain of public ownership, reported PIB.

Odisha Statistics

As per the first census of water bodies, 1,81,837 water bodies have been enumerated in Odisha, out of which 97.9% (1,78,054) are in rural areas and the remaining 2.1% (3,783) are in urban areas. About 50.9% (92,575) water bodies are privately owned whereas the remaining 49.1% (89,262) are under public ownership.

31.3% (56,900) water bodies are located in tribal areas and the remaining 68.7% (1,24,937) are located in area under Drought Prone Area Program, flood prone areas, naxal affected areas and other areas. 89.2% (1,62,207) water bodies are in use whereas rest 10.8% (19,630) are not in use on account of drying up, siltation, salinity, destroyed beyond repair and other reasons.

Other Data

Top 5 States wherein major use of water bodies is in pisciculture are West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh;

Top 5 States wherein major use of water bodies is in irrigation are Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat.

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