According to the report of the first census of water bodies released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, India has 24.24 lakh water bodies like ponds, tanks and lakes.Which state has topped the charts with the most number of water bodies?

Solution

According to the report of the first census of waterbodies released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, India has 24.24 lakh waterbodies like ponds, tanks and lakes, with West Bengal accounting for the most (7.47 lakh) and Sikkim the least (134).     The report states, 24,24,540 waterbodies have been outlined in the country, out of which 97.1% (23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) in urban areas.  As per the report, 59.5 per cent (14,42,993) of waterbodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7 per cent i.e. 3,81,805), reservoirs (12.1 per cent i.e. 2,92,280), water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams (9.3% i.e. 2,26,217), lakes (0.9% i.e. 22,361) and others (2.5% i.e. 58,884)      The census also collected data on encroachment of waterbodies for the first time. 1.6% waterbodies out of all the enumerated waterbodies are reported to be encroached, out of which 95.4% are in rural areas and remaining 4.6% in urban areas.