Chandigarh, Mar 19 (PTI) Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry on Wednesday said that the government has done a lot of work regarding improving the quality and quantity of groundwater.

The minister said the Haryana Government is using 2200 inspection points to monitor the quality and quantity of water.

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In addition, the Central Ground Water Board also monitors the quality and quantity of water.

Steps are being taken to solve the problem of groundwater salinity and waterlogging. In 2018-19, vertical drainage technology was used to solve this problem, she said.

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The Assembly took up short duration discussion after opposition MLAs sought to draw the attention of the House towards a matter of urgent public important regarding availability of sufficient groundwater qualitative in Haryana.

Congress MLA B B Batra said the groundwater is a critical source of drinking water, irrigation and industrial usage special for rural and semi urban pollution.

Ground water plays a crucial role in the meeting with water demand in Haryana. Eighty percent of groundwater is being used in agriculture sector and about 11 percent domestic sector, he said.

"It is important to state that groundwater quality in Haryana is facing degradation especially in the districts of Ambala, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurgaon, Nuh, Palwal, Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Rohtak, Sonepat, Rewari etc," he said.

Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal said the quality of drinking water is deteriorating at many places.

She also said if quality of drinking water is not good, prolonged exposure to impure water can cause diseases like cancer, affect vital organs and even cause hormonal imbalance, and skin diseases.

Over use of fertilisers and pesticides, industrial pollutants, are also affecting ground water quality, Bhukkal said.

Congress member Aftab Ahmed said there are many affected districts in southern and western parts of the state in which groundwater is brackish.

Meanwhile, Minister Shruti Choudhry said that the Irrigation Department freed 26,110 acres of land from waterlogging by spending Rs 108.78 crore in 2018-19. Financial assistance was received from the World Bank to eliminate waterlogging in 2 lakh acres of land by 2026-2031, she said.

She also said that efforts are being made to maintain water quality under the "Water Secure Haryana" scheme.

The water level will be monitored under Groundwater Resource Assessment (GWRE), 2024.

Sub-surface and vertical drainage system is being implemented to solve the problem of waterlogging in 13 districts (Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Bhiwani, Hisar, Jind, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Faridabad, Gurugram, Sirsa, Palwal and Mewat).

Water level monitoring and water recharge is being promoted under the Atal Bhujal Yojana, she said.

She said to improve the groundwater situation, farmers who give up paddy cultivation under the Mera Pani Meri Virasat scheme will get a grant amount of Rs 8,000 per acre, up from Rs 7000 per acre that was given earlier.

Micro irrigation system was implemented in 2020-21 with 85 percent subsidy under the Micro Irrigation and Development Authority (MICADA). 950 water recharge structures were installed on 272,537 acres of land. 2,489 structures were built in 2023-24 and 2,055 structures will be built in 2024-25.

The Haryana Water Resources Authority constituted by the department is also continuously working on groundwater management, she said.

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