Water scarcity mitigation through water security plan - A case study from Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh, India

The Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh in central India faces severe scarcity of water for drinking and other purposes during summer season. This situation prevailed due to compounded hydrogeological conditions with less precipitation and over exploitation of groundwater for irrigation needs. To address the water scarcity issue, a village water security plan (WSP) is prepared at a micro-watershed level for drought prone villages in Shivpuri tehsil of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh. The plan entails about water sources and their utilization in a sustainable manner to cater the water requirements in the area. The study reveals that groundwater (GW) extraction excessively exceeds the groundwater recharge and it leads to depletion of groundwater level. Out of the total available groundwater, about 98% is used for irrigation and 2% for household purposes. The groundwater stage development above 100% indicates the over exploitation of groundwater, and the study area comes under critical category. The physico-chemical parameters of the groundwater are within the permissible limits as per BIS standards. The remote sensing data were used for thematic mapping to prepare a water security plan for augmentation of groundwater in the area. The study reveals that the organized scientific surveys facilitate in improvement of existing groundwater resources which can fulfill the requirements of local people.