First-ever waterbody census: West Bengal tops list among states, Sikkim at the bottom

West Bengal has the highest number of water bodies in India whereas Sikkim has the least number of water bodies, the first Census of Water Bodies by the Ministry of Jal Shakti revealed. This census is in convergence with the 6th Minor Irrigation (MI) Census under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme "Irrigation Census" launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

West Bengal houses the highest 7.47 lakh water bodies whereas Sikkim has the least number of water bodies with only 134, according to the survey.

The census aims to create a national database of all water bodies in the country by collecting information on their size, condition, encroachment status, storage capacity, and other important aspects. The census covered both rural and urban areas and captured photographs of water bodies using a mobile app developed for the purpose.

The census reported that out of 24.24 lakh water bodies in the country, 97.1 percent or 23.55 lakh are in rural areas, and only 2.9 percent or 69,485 are in urban areas. Ponds account for 59.5 percent of the water bodies, followed by tanks (15.7percent), reservoirs (12.1 percent), water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams (9.3percent), lakes (0.9percent), and others (2.5 percent).

West Bengal tops the list with the highest number of ponds and reservoirs, while Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of tanks, and Tamil Nadu has the highest number of lakes. In addition, Maharashtra is the leading state when it comes to implementing water conservation schemes, the census found.

The census outcome also showed that 83.7 percent of water bodies are in use for purposes such as pisciculture, irrigation, groundwater recharge, and domestic/drinking purposes. The remaining 16.3 percent are not in use due to drying up, construction, siltation, destruction, salinity, or other reasons. In addition, 9.6 percent of water bodies are located in tribal areas, 8.8 percent in flood-prone areas, 7.2 percent in the area under the "Drought Prone Areas Programme," and 2 percent are in Naxal-affected areas.

The census reported that 55.2 percent of water bodies are owned by private entities, whereas 44.8 percent are in the domain of public ownership. Of all public-owned water bodies, the maximum is owned by Panchayats, followed by State Irrigation/State WRD. Of all private-owned water bodies, maximum are owned by individual owners/farmers, followed by groups of individuals and other private bodies.

The census also collected information on the encroachment of water bodies for the first time, revealing that 1.6 percent of water bodies are encroached, with 95.4 percent in rural areas and 4.6 percent in urban areas.