'MNREGA works have contributed to improved ground water

Works under the Centre's ambitious rural job scheme have contributed positively to the ground water level in villages despite continued expansion and extraction of ground water, a new study says.
"Implementation of MNREGA works such as water conservation and harvesting works, drought proofing, irrigation provisioning and improvement works, and renovation of traditional water bodies have contributed to improved ground water levels, increased water availability for irrigation, increased area irrigated by ground and environmental benefits," it says.
The study, titled 'Environmental Benefits and Vulnerability Reduction through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme', was conducted by IISc, Bangalore in collaboration with Rural Development Ministry and Deutsche Gesellschaft f�r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

On the impact on ground water level, the study says that MNREGA works such as check dams, percolation tanks and desilting of tanks have had positive impacts on ground water depth in the study villages where ground water level was measured during 2012.
The water level is in the range of depth recorded by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) for the pre-MGNREGS period (2006-07), it says.
"Ground water levels have either increased or remained at the pre-MGNREGS level despite continued and perhaps increased extraction," the study says.

It says the survey of beneficiary households in four districts reported an increase in the quantity of water utilised by each household.

This was due to increase in the number of water bodies, increased ground water level and increased number of days of water availability from different water sources, the study says.
"Similarly, water harvesting structures such as check dams, stop dams, percolation tanks, ponds, etc, have not only increased ground water levels, but also improved drinking water availability for livestock," it adds.