Consider the following statements :
1. 36% of India’s districts are classified as “overexploited” or “critical” by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
2. CGWA was’ formed under the Environment (Protection) Act.
3. India has the largest area under groundwater irrigation in the world.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has been constituted the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to regulate and control development and management of ground water resources in the country. Hence, statement 2 is correct. India’s irrigation is mostly groundwater well based. India has the world’s largest groundwater well equipped irrigation system (China with 19 mha is second, USA with 17 mha is third). Hence, statement 2 and 3 are correct. According to National Compilation of Groundwater Resource of India 2017, the average stage of ground water extraction for the country as a whole works out to be about 63 %. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. Therefore, the correct answer is (b).