Govt conducts first-ever census of water bodies across the country
Ministry of Jal Shakti has conducted the first-ever census of water bodies across the nation. The census provides a comprehensive inventory of India’s water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds and lakes.
In the census, over 24.24 lakh water bodies have been enumerated in the country out of which more than 23 lakh water bodies are in rural areas and nearly 69,000 are in urban areas.
The top five States in terms of number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam which constitute around 63 per cent of the total water bodies in the country. The Census also highlighted disparities between rural and urban areas and varying levels of encroachment and revealed crucial insights into the country’s water resources