Groundwater availability and utilisation in Haryana : A geographical study

36-41Water plays a very important role in human life. As a resource, it is indispensable for the economic development of a country. Agriculture is a majar sector in Haryana. Due to scarcity of surface water resources, the utilization of groundwater is very important for the state's economy. Therefore, it is important to know the groundwater availability and its utilization. In the present paper, the study on groundwater availability and utilization has been carried out with the help of secondary data. Tables and maps have been drawn to know the spatial variability. The results revealed that about 9.80 hectare meter groundwater was available in the state during the year 2009. However, the consumption of this groundwater resource in the state was around 12.43 lakh hectare meter. Agriculture sector is the major consumer of groundwater which is utilized for carrying out the irrigation. Apart from this, 13 districts in the state are over-exploited, 5 are critical, whereas only 3 districts are safe from groundwater development. Availability of groundwater in the state can be enhanced by enriching annual recharge capacity, recycling of water both in industrial and domestic sector and roof top water harvesting.