Over-Exploited Groundwater Areas in Rajasthan: What Industries Need to Know
- Dr. Anubhav Gupta
- 1 day ago
- 12 min read
Rajasthan presents one of India's clearest examples of why groundwater should be considered an industrial project-planning issue, not merely a borewell issue.
Under the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment 2025 (GWRA-2025), Rajasthan has 302 groundwater assessment units comprising blocks and urban assessment units.
Of these:
213 are Over-Exploited
23 are Critical
27 are Semi-Critical
36 are Safe
3 are Saline
In other words, approximately 70.5% of Rajasthan's groundwater assessment units are Over-Exploited.
For an industrial project, this immediately raises an important question:
Can the proposed project's long-term water requirement actually be supported at this location?
That question should ideally be answered before land purchase, machinery ordering, project financing or capacity expansion.
The wider methodology is explained in SARK's Groundwater Regulatory Intelligence hub:
Rajasthan Groundwater Status Under GWRA 2025
The latest official assessment presents the following State-level picture:
Category | Assessment Units | Approx. Share |
Over-Exploited | 213 | 70.53% |
Critical | 23 | 7.62% |
Semi-Critical | 27 | 8.94% |
Safe | 36 | 11.92% |
Saline | 3 | 0.99% |
Total | 302 | 100% |
This means that more than seven out of every ten assessed groundwater units in Rajasthan are Over-Exploited.
If Critical and Semi-Critical units are added, almost 87% of assessment units fall outside the Safe category.
For a manufacturing company evaluating Rajasthan, groundwater should therefore be checked at the specific assessment-unit level, rather than relying on a general statement that groundwater is available somewhere within the district.
What Does Over-Exploited Mean?
An Over-Exploited groundwater assessment unit is one in which the Stage of Ground Water Extraction exceeds 100%.
The stage of extraction essentially compares:
Annual Groundwater Extraction
with
Annual Extractable Groundwater Resource
A result above 100% indicates that groundwater is being extracted at a rate greater than the assessed annual extractable resource.
For a detailed explanation of all four major categories, see:
It is important to understand what Over-Exploited does not mean.
It does not necessarily mean that:
there is literally no groundwater underground;
every borewell has failed;
every location within the block has identical hydrogeology;
no groundwater can physically be pumped.
The classification describes the resource stress of the assessment unit.
A borewell may continue to yield substantial water while the wider aquifer system remains overdeveloped.
That distinction is extremely important for industrial planning.
Why Is Rajasthan So Groundwater-Stressed?
Rajasthan combines several factors that naturally place pressure on groundwater resources.
Low and Highly Variable Rainfall
Much of Rajasthan is arid or semi-arid.
Rainfall is limited and highly variable geographically and temporally.
Consequently, natural groundwater recharge can be relatively low compared with regions receiving more dependable rainfall.
High Dependence on Groundwater
Groundwater supports:
irrigation;
drinking-water supply;
industries;
commercial activities;
urban development.
When groundwater withdrawal repeatedly exceeds replenishment, groundwater levels can decline and assessment units can move into stressed categories.
Hydrogeological Diversity
Rajasthan contains substantially different geological formations.
Groundwater occurs within:
unconsolidated alluvial formations;
semi-consolidated formations;
sandstone;
limestone;
weathered hard rock;
fractured rock systems.
These formations do not all store or transmit groundwater equally.
A productive borewell at one site does not establish groundwater availability across an entire industrial region.
Arid Climate and Limited Recharge
The national GWRA-2025 compilation specifically identifies Rajasthan and Gujarat among western Indian States where Over-Exploited units are common, partly because the prevailing arid climate produces relatively low groundwater recharge.
Rajasthan's Overall Stage of Groundwater Extraction
The State-level groundwater numbers are striking.
Under GWRA-2025:
Annual Groundwater Recharge: approximately 12.87 bcm
Annual Extractable Groundwater Resource: approximately 11.62 bcm
Annual Groundwater Extraction: approximately 17.10 bcm
Stage of Groundwater Extraction: approximately 147.11%
This does not mean every individual Rajasthan block has an extraction stage of 147%.
It is the overall State-level indicator.
Individual assessment units can have substantially different groundwater-resource conditions.
Nevertheless, the number demonstrates why groundwater security deserves serious attention in Rajasthan project planning.
Has Rajasthan's Groundwater Situation Changed Since 2024?
Yes, although the overall groundwater-stress picture remains severe.
GWRA-2024 recorded:
214 Over-Exploited units
27 Critical units
21 Semi-Critical units
37 Safe units
3 Saline units
GWRA-2025 records:
213 Over-Exploited
23 Critical
27 Semi-Critical
36 Safe
3 Saline
The number of Over-Exploited assessment units therefore declined slightly from 214 to 213.
However, it would be misleading to interpret a one-unit reduction as evidence that Rajasthan's groundwater problem has been resolved.
More than 70% of its groundwater assessment units remain Over-Exploited.
The appropriate conclusion for industry remains:
Check the latest project-specific groundwater position rather than relying on historic assumptions.
Why an Industry Should Not Search Only by District
A common search might be:
“Is Jaipur Over-Exploited?”
or:
“Is Alwar an Over-Exploited groundwater area?”
That question may be too broad for an industrial project.
Groundwater assessment is undertaken at assessment-unit level, which commonly corresponds to blocks and specified urban assessment units.
Different blocks within the same district can have different classifications.
The correct sequence is:
Exact project location
→ District
→ Assessment unit / block
→ Current GWRA classification
→ Applicable groundwater authority
→ Project-specific regulatory feasibility
This becomes particularly important for large districts and industrial corridors.
Why Rajasthan Industries Need Groundwater Due Diligence Before Land Purchase
Suppose an investor is evaluating two industrial plots.
Both have:
road connectivity;
electricity;
labour;
industrial infrastructure;
comparable land prices.
But one site has reliable authorised external water supply while the other expects to depend substantially on borewells in an Over-Exploited assessment unit.
Those projects may have very different long-term economics.
Water constraints can influence:
project feasibility;
production capacity;
ETP/STP design;
storage requirements;
cooling-system design;
rainwater infrastructure;
pipeline CAPEX;
operating costs;
future expansion.
Groundwater due diligence should therefore form part of:
before a water-intensive industrial project commits major capital.
Can a New Industry Extract Groundwater in an Over-Exploited Area?
This requires project-specific regulatory analysis.
Under the current central groundwater framework, new industrial groundwater abstraction in Over-Exploited assessment units is substantially restricted, with specific treatment for eligible MSMEs and certain permitted uses.
However, Rajasthan projects must first establish the competent regulatory authority and currently applicable State/Central framework before drawing conclusions from generic national guidance.
The broader national issue is explained here:
The important commercial point is:
A project should never assume that a new industrial borewell will be available merely because neighbouring factories have borewells.
Those neighbouring wells may:
predate current regulations;
operate under older permissions;
have different permitted quantities;
belong to different project categories.
Existing Industry vs New Industry
This distinction is particularly important in groundwater-stressed areas.
New Industrial Project
A new project should first establish:
current groundwater category;
applicable groundwater regulator;
eligibility for abstraction;
realistic freshwater requirement;
alternative water supply;
reuse potential;
rainwater potential;
future expansion requirement.
Existing Industry
An operating plant should review:
existing groundwater permission;
permitted quantity;
actual abstraction;
borewell status;
flow-meter records;
groundwater monitoring;
water balance;
rainwater infrastructure;
treatment and reuse systems.
The existence of a historic borewell should not automatically be interpreted as an unlimited future water entitlement.
What If an Existing Rajasthan Industry Wants to Expand?
Industrial expansion creates one of the most important groundwater questions.
Suppose a factory currently uses:
100 KLD freshwater
and proposes to increase production by 50%.
A simple projection might suggest:
150 KLD freshwater after expansion.
But that assumption should be challenged.
The project should examine whether the additional 50 KLD can be avoided through:
cooling optimisation;
condensate recovery;
ETP reuse;
STP reuse;
improved process washing;
RO recovery;
process recycling;
rainwater utilisation.
An expansion project should compare:
existing permitted groundwater abstraction
vs
current actual abstraction
vs
projected post-expansion freshwater requirement
before deciding the final water infrastructure.
Rajasthan Industries Should Focus on Specific Water Consumption
Absolute water consumption is useful, but it can hide operating inefficiency.
Industrial sites should also track a production-linked indicator such as:
m³ water per tonne of product
or another sector-specific measure.
For example:
Plant A:
100 KLD / 50 tonnes production= 2 m³/tonne
Plant B:
100 KLD / 100 tonnes production= 1 m³/tonne
The two facilities abstract the same total quantity, but their water productivity is very different.
For an industrial facility in a groundwater-stressed Rajasthan location, reducing specific water consumption can be one of the most important strategies for supporting future production growth.
Groundwater Restriction Does Not Necessarily Mean the Industrial Project Is Impossible
A groundwater-constrained location does not automatically mean there is no viable industrial water strategy.
It means the project may need to move away from:
groundwater as the default supply
toward:
groundwater as one component of an integrated water architecture.
Potential components include:
Industrial or Municipal Water Supply
Where authorised infrastructure is available.
Treated Wastewater Reuse
Suitable ETP and STP water may potentially replace freshwater for cooling, washing, flushing or selected processes.
Condensate Recovery
Particularly important for steam-intensive industries.
Cooling-Water Optimisation
Cooling towers can account for substantial freshwater consumption.
Process-Water Recycling
Selected streams may be recoverable without complete treatment.
Rainwater Utilisation
Rajasthan receives limited rainfall compared with many regions, but large industrial catchments can still generate meaningful seasonal volumes.
High-Recovery Treatment
RO and other technologies can reduce freshwater demand where technically and economically justified.
ZLD
Where required or justified, Zero Liquid Discharge can maximise water recovery, although it should not be used as a generic response to groundwater scarcity.
See:
Why an Industrial Water Audit Becomes Important
If groundwater is limited, the first engineering task should usually be to determine whether the plant actually needs the quantity it currently consumes.
An industrial water audit can measure:
groundwater abstraction;
municipal/external supply;
process consumption;
washing;
cooling;
boilers;
domestic use;
ETP/STP;
blowdown;
condensate;
RO recovery;
unaccounted losses.
The objective is:
minimum technically practical freshwater requirement
rather than simply calculating the capacity of another borewell.
SARK's Industrial Water Audit services are available at:
Cooling Towers Can Be a Major Rajasthan Water Opportunity
Rajasthan's climate makes industrial cooling particularly important.
Cooling towers lose water primarily through:
evaporation;
blowdown;
drift;
leaks and overflow.
Evaporation is fundamentally part of evaporative cooling.
Excessive blowdown, however, may sometimes be reduced.
An audit can review:
cycles of concentration;
conductivity;
scaling;
hardness;
silica;
chemical treatment;
automatic blowdown;
make-up quality.
Reducing cooling-water make-up can materially reduce groundwater dependency at large industrial facilities.
Condensate Recovery Can Reduce Both Water and Energy Demand
Steam-intensive industries should examine condensate recovery carefully.
Returned condensate reduces:
freshwater demand
and
boiler fuel consumption.
Relevant industries may include:
textile;
food;
chemicals;
pharmaceuticals;
paper;
process manufacturing.
This is an important example of why industrial groundwater optimisation often overlaps with energy and utility optimisation.
Treated STP Water Should Be Considered a Resource
An industrial campus with a significant workforce may generate meaningful volumes of domestic sewage.
After suitable treatment, STP water can potentially support applications such as:
flushing;
horticulture;
cooling-tower make-up;
washing;
other appropriate non-potable uses.
Using freshwater for every duty can unnecessarily increase groundwater abstraction.
The engineering principle should be:
match water quality to the quality actually required by the application.
Treated ETP Water Can Also Reduce Freshwater Dependence
Industrial wastewater reuse depends on:
effluent chemistry;
TDS;
COD;
suspended solids;
hardness;
contaminants;
final reuse requirement.
Some treated streams may be reusable directly for selected duties.
Others may require tertiary treatment, filtration or membranes.
The objective is not necessarily to produce drinking-quality water.
It is to produce fit-for-purpose water.
SARK's industrial wastewater treatment work is described at:
Does Rainwater Harvesting Solve Rajasthan's Groundwater Problem?
Not by itself.
Rajasthan's rainfall is limited and variable.
However, a large factory can still possess a substantial catchment.
Consider:
40,000 m² factory roof
Even moderate annual rainfall can produce significant gross runoff volume.
Actual recoverable water depends on:
rainfall;
runoff coefficient;
first flush;
losses;
storage;
stormwater management.
Rainwater may potentially be:
directly stored;
used for suitable duties;
recharged where hydrogeologically and environmentally appropriate.
But rainwater recharge should not be treated as a bookkeeping exercise in which every cubic metre captured automatically cancels one cubic metre of groundwater abstraction.
Groundwater Quality Is Also an Industrial Constraint in Rajasthan
Water quantity is only one part of the industrial groundwater question.
Rajasthan also has significant groundwater-quality challenges.
Depending on location, industrial users may encounter issues including:
salinity;
fluoride;
nitrate;
elevated TDS;
hardness;
other location-specific contaminants.
These can materially affect:
RO recovery;
cooling towers;
boilers;
membrane life;
treatment CAPEX;
chemical consumption;
reject generation.
This means:
physical groundwater availability does not necessarily equal usable industrial-water availability.
Before committing a project to groundwater, both quantity and quality should be evaluated.
Saline Groundwater Areas Are a Separate Category
GWRA-2025 identifies three Saline assessment units in Rajasthan.
Saline is not simply another level on the Safe → Semi-Critical → Critical → Over-Exploited scale.
It describes assessment units where groundwater quality is predominantly saline.
This distinction matters because a saline groundwater source might theoretically provide water after treatment in some industrial circumstances, but treatment costs and reject management can fundamentally change project economics.
It should therefore be evaluated separately from conventional freshwater abstraction.
When May Groundwater Impact Assessment Be Required?
Large groundwater-dependent industrial projects may require a detailed Groundwater Impact Assessment depending upon withdrawal quantity, groundwater category, hydrogeology and applicable regulation.
The assessment can examine:
aquifer characteristics;
groundwater levels;
proposed abstraction;
nearby users;
recharge;
drawdown;
groundwater flow;
cumulative stress;
groundwater modelling;
sustainability.
Read:
and the detailed methodology:
The purpose should not be merely to generate an approval document.
The assessment should answer:
Can this groundwater strategy remain technically sustainable over the operating life of the industrial project?
Groundwater Modelling Can Compare Different Water Strategies
Where modelling is applicable, one of its strongest uses is scenario comparison.
For example:
Scenario 1 — Original Project
250 KLD groundwater.
Scenario 2 — Water-Efficient Project
180 KLD after process and cooling optimisation.
Scenario 3 — High-Reuse Project
120 KLD after ETP/STP reuse and condensate recovery.
Scenario 4 — Diversified Supply Project
75 KLD groundwater plus external industrial water.
Rather than modelling only one groundwater requirement, the project can compare how alternative water strategies affect aquifer drawdown and project risk.
That turns groundwater modelling into a genuine engineering decision tool.
What Should a Rajasthan Industry Check Before Purchasing Land?
For a water-dependent project, SARK recommends screening at least the following:
1. Exact Assessment Unit
Do not rely only on the district name.
2. Current GWRA Classification
Use the latest official assessment.
3. Groundwater Regulator
Determine the authority applicable to the project.
4. Freshwater Requirement
Calculate realistic process, cooling, boiler and domestic demand.
5. Alternative Water Supply
Check municipal, industrial, surface and reclaimed-water availability.
6. Groundwater Quality
Evaluate whether treatment would be required.
7. Wastewater-Reuse Potential
Estimate how much freshwater can be displaced.
8. Rainwater Potential
Assess realistic seasonal contribution.
9. Future Expansion
Consider the water requirement at planned future production—not only startup capacity.
10. Water-Related CAPEX
Include treatment, storage, pipelines, reuse and monitoring before investment approval.
Bhiwadi, Alwar and Other Industrial Clusters Need Location-Specific Review
Rajasthan contains major industrial concentrations around:
Bhiwadi;
Neemrana;
Alwar;
Jaipur;
Jodhpur;
Ajmer;
Bhilwara;
Udaipur;
Pali;
Kota;
other RIICO industrial areas.
It would be incorrect to apply one State-level groundwater conclusion to every industrial location.
Each project should be mapped to its current assessment unit.
This is why SARK's groundwater cluster will progressively include location-specific resources, including a separate guide for Bhiwadi and Alwar.
Why Old Rajasthan Groundwater Lists Can Be Misleading
Groundwater classification is periodically reassessed.
The number of Over-Exploited Rajasthan assessment units has changed across successive assessments:
GWRA-2017: 185
GWRA-2020: 203
GWRA-2022: 219
GWRA-2023: 216
GWRA-2024: 214
GWRA-2025: 213
The important lesson is not the small movement between individual years.
It is that groundwater categories can change.
An industrial project should therefore not rely on:
an old consultant report;
an earlier DPR;
an old NOC attachment;
an outdated internet table;
what neighbouring factories remember.
Use the current official assessment.
What Should an Existing Rajasthan Industry Do?
Existing groundwater-dependent facilities should periodically carry out a reconciliation exercise.
Compare:
permitted abstraction
with
actual abstraction
with
current production
with
future production
and then identify:
water losses;
reuse;
recycling;
monitoring gaps;
alternative supply;
rainwater opportunities.
A useful performance KPI is:
m³ of freshwater per tonne of production
rather than groundwater quantity alone.
If production rises while specific freshwater consumption falls, industrial growth does not necessarily need to produce an equivalent increase in groundwater demand.
What Should a New Rajasthan Industrial Project Do?
A new project should follow a different sequence:
Site screening
→ groundwater classification
→ regulatory feasibility
→ industrial water balance
→ groundwater-quality assessment
→ alternative-source assessment
→ reuse strategy
→ groundwater impact assessment where applicable
→ final water architecture
→ investment decision
This is much safer than:
buy land → order machinery → drill borewell → discover groundwater constraint.
How SARK Engineers & Consultants Supports Rajasthan Projects
SARK integrates groundwater regulation with industrial water and project engineering.
Support may include:
Groundwater Classification Review
Identify the relevant assessment unit and current groundwater status.
Groundwater Regulatory Screening
Assess the project against applicable groundwater requirements.
Industrial Water Audit
Measure actual use and identify freshwater-reduction potential.
Industrial Water Balance
Develop source-use-effluent-reuse accounting for new and existing plants.
Groundwater Impact Assessment
Evaluate aquifer response for applicable groundwater-dependent projects.
Wastewater Reuse
Assess ETP/STP treatment and reuse opportunities.
Rainwater Harvesting Assessment
Design catchment, storage, recharge and stormwater strategies appropriate to site conditions.
Project Water Due Diligence
Evaluate groundwater and alternative water availability before land purchase or industrial expansion.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Over-Exploited groundwater assessment units are there in Rajasthan?
GWRA-2025 identifies 213 Over-Exploited assessment units out of 302 assessed units in Rajasthan.
What percentage of Rajasthan's assessment units are Over-Exploited?
Approximately 70.53% of Rajasthan's assessed groundwater units are classified as Over-Exploited under GWRA-2025.
How many Safe groundwater assessment units are there in Rajasthan?
GWRA-2025 lists 36 Safe assessment units, representing approximately 11.92% of the State total.
What is Rajasthan's overall Stage of Groundwater Extraction?
The GWRA-2025 Rajasthan assessment reports a State-level Stage of Groundwater Extraction of approximately 147.11%.
Does Over-Exploited mean there is no groundwater underground?
No. It means annual groundwater extraction exceeds the assessed annual extractable groundwater resource of the assessment unit. Borewells may still contain or yield groundwater.
Can a new factory automatically drill a borewell in an Over-Exploited Rajasthan area?
No such assumption should be made. The exact assessment unit, competent groundwater authority, project type, proposed quantity and current regulations should be reviewed before relying on a new industrial groundwater source.
Should groundwater be checked before buying industrial land in Rajasthan?
For a groundwater-dependent industrial project, yes. Groundwater classification, regulatory feasibility, water quality, alternative supply and reuse potential can materially affect project CAPEX and long-term feasibility.
Can production expand without groundwater abstraction increasing?
Potentially yes. Improved process efficiency, cooling optimisation, condensate recovery, treated wastewater reuse and alternative sources can allow production to increase without a proportional increase in groundwater demand.
Data and Regulatory Note
Information reviewed: August 2026
This article uses GWRA-2025, under which Rajasthan has 302 groundwater assessment units: 213 Over-Exploited, 23 Critical, 27 Semi-Critical, 36 Safe and 3 Saline.
Groundwater classification and regulatory requirements should always be verified for the exact project assessment unit before land purchase, borewell construction, industrial expansion or regulatory submission.
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