Widespread groundwater decline in bread basket states
Q. Which are the bread basket states?- Published on 12 Feb 16a. Northern states
b. Southern states
c. Eastern states
d. Western states
ANSWER: Northern states
The northern bread basket states have experienced a groundwater decline. Around 15% of the Indian foodgrains is being produced in the states, Of the 6607 ground water assessment units, around 1071 are over exploited. This means that withdrawal of ground water is greater than the recharge within a particular unit. Currently 914 units are in varied stages of ground water criticality. NAQUIM has revealed that around 1.04 lakh sq.km has been mapped and management plans have been prepared for approximately 82,000 sq.kms.
