GS Paper I 2018 · Q14
15 marks · 250 words Women, population, poverty & urbanisation X-Ray · Core #5“The ideal solution of depleting ground water resources in India is water harvesting system.” How can it be made effective in urban areas ?
Approach · directive: “how”
What it asks · Explain how rainwater harvesting and recharge can be made to work in cities, while noting that harvesting alone does not solve groundwater depletion.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Examine the premise: what water harvesting can do against groundwater depletion, and why it is central but not sufficient
- How it can be made effective in urban areas: mandate and enforcement, urban institutions, incentives, recharge works, water bodies, science and community
- What must accompany harvesting: borewell regulation, wastewater reuse and leakage control
Open with · The 2024 groundwater assessment rates 751 of 6,746 units over-exploited; in cities roofs and roads shed rain into drains, so harvesting works only if mandated, designed and maintained.
Cover
- CGWB Master Plan 2020 envisages about 1.42 crore recharge structures to harness 185 BCM of monsoon rain.
- Harvesting cuts borewell demand and urban flooding but cannot offset unregulated extraction alone.
- Mandate and enforce: Tamil Nadu (2003); 35 States/UTs adopted MBBL 2016 rainwater provisions; link occupancy certificates.
- Catch the Rain: ULB rainwater harvesting cells to monitor extraction and recharge; tax rebates and retrofit subsidies.
- Recharge pits, trenches, permeable pavements, stormwater links; revive lakes and stepwells; site them by NAQUIM aquifer maps.
- Pair with borewell regulation, wastewater reuse and leakage control.
Close with · Cities that treat rooftops as recharge zones and lakes as reservoirs move India towards SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all) and make harvesting a habit, not a campaign.
Add value (verified)
- CGWB's 2025 assessment: 730 of 6,762 assessment units (10.80%) are over-exploited.National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2025 — Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Jal Shakti ↗“Out of the total 6762 assessment units (Blocks/ Mandals/ Talukas) in the country, 730 units in various States/ UTs (10.80 %) have been categorized as ‘Over-exploited’”
- CGWB's Master Plan for Artificial Recharge 2020 envisages about 1.42 crore structures to harness 185 BCM of monsoon rainfall.Steps taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other Central Ministries for water conservation — Government of India (2024) ↗“The Master Plan envisages construction of about1.42 crore Rain water harvesting and artificial recharge structures in the Country to harness 185 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM) of monsoon rainfall.”
- 35 States/UTs have adopted the rainwater harvesting provisions of the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016.Steps taken by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other Central Ministries for water conservation — Government of India (2024) ↗“So far 35 States / UTs have adopted the provisions of rainwater harvesting of MBBL- 2016.”
- Under Catch the Rain, urban local bodies are to set up rainwater harvesting cells to monitor groundwater extraction and recharge.Jal Shakti Abhiyan: A Comprehensive Initiative for Water Conservation — PIB (June 2024) ↗“Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) should constitute RWH Cells to monitor the extent of groundwater extraction and recharge.”
- Rainwater harvesting is to be enforced in all buildings as per the Model Building By-Law 2016.Jal Shakti Abhiyan: A Comprehensive Initiative for Water Conservation — PIB (June 2024) ↗“Ensuring that Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) is implemented as per the Model Building By-Law (MBBL), 2016, and effectively enforced in all buildings.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 321words · Minimalist IAS
CGWB's 2025 assessment rates 730 of India's 6,762 assessment units (10.80%) over-exploited. In cities, roofs and roads shed rain into drains; harvesting can turn that runoff into recharge only if it is mandated, designed and maintained.
Why harvesting is central, not sufficient
- Recharge potential: CGWB's Master Plan for Artificial Recharge 2020 envisages about 1.42 crore harvesting and recharge structures to harness 185 BCM of monsoon rainfall.
- Twin gain: captured runoff cuts borewell demand and urban flooding at the same time.
- Limit: unregulated extraction, leaking networks and wasteful use keep draining aquifers unless demand is also managed.
- Roof and road runoff
- first-flush filter
- storage tank or recharge pit
- aquifer
- borewells and lakes
Making it effective in urban areas
- Mandate and enforce: Tamil Nadu made rooftop harvesting compulsory in 2003; 35 States/UTs have adopted the rainwater provisions of the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016. Occupancy certificates should require a working system.
- Urban RWH cells: since then, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain asks urban local bodies to set up harvesting cells that monitor extraction and recharge.
- Incentives: property-tax rebates and retrofit subsidies for older buildings, with government offices and large complexes leading.
- Recharge works: recharge pits and wells, percolation trenches, permeable pavements and rain gardens; stormwater drains should feed recharge points.
- Revive water bodies: protect lakes, tanks and stepwells and their catchments from encroachment, since they store and recharge water naturally.
- Plan on science: aquifer mapping (NAQUIM) should decide where recharge works; first-flush filters and regular cleaning keep aquifers safe.
- Community and data: resident welfare associations, audits and public dashboards to track working systems and water levels.
Beyond harvesting
- Demand side: regulate borewells through the Central Ground Water Authority and State laws, reuse treated wastewater for non-drinking needs, and cut network leakage.
Cities that treat rooftops as recharge zones and lakes as reservoirs move India towards SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all) and turn harvesting from a campaign into a civic habit.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
