Groundwater extraction at some villages in Purandar taluka of Pune district, which has been designated for the proposed Pune international airport, has reached ‘critical’ levels. Some villages here have been termed ‘unfit’ for further groundwater extraction, a report released by the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) has stated.
The GSDA has prepared hydrogeological reports under the Atal Bhujal Yojana for select districts and talukas of Maharashtra. Also known as Atal Jal, this Rs 6,000 crore scheme is partly funded by the World Bank.
The scheme was implemented last year in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These states were chosen in the pilot phase after it was found that the groundwater table in these states were fast depleting in recent years.
