Delhi recharged more water than it extracted from the ground in 2025, showing significant improvement in groundwater extraction with an extraction rate of 92.1%, according to the latest annual report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB).
The report, dated November 2025 but uploaded recently, shows that Delhi extracted 0.32 billion cubic meters of groundwater in 2024-25 but managed to recharge 0.38 billion cubic metres.
Delhi records net water gains
For context, Delhi’s extraction rate was 100.77% in 2023-24, 99.13% in 2022-23, and 98.16% in 2021-22. A groundwater extraction of more than 100% means more water is extracted than recharged, while a lower rate means groundwater is left unused and more is recharged. The extraction rate was 101.4% in the period 2020-2021, and 119.6% in the period 2017-2018.
The improvement was also reflected in Delhi’s 34 assessment units, 21 of which were classified as either ‘overutilized’ or ‘critical’ in 2024-25 – down from 27 such units in 2023-24. At the same time, the number of “secure” units increased from five in 2023-2024 to seven in 2024-2025.
“Of 34 assessment units, 10 units (29.41%) are rated as ‘Overexploited’, 11 units (32.35%) are rated ‘Critical’, 6 units (17.65%) are rated ‘Near-Critical’, and 7 units (20.59%) are rated ‘Secure’,” according to the latest report. By comparison, in 2024, 14 units (41.18%) are rated as “Overexploited”, 13 units (38.24%) are classified as “Critical”, 2 units (5.88%) are classified as “Semi-Critical”, and 5 units (14.71%) are classified as “Safe”.
Rise in ‘safe’ groundwater areas across Delhi
For groundwater readings, “safe” areas are those where the recharge to extraction ratio is 70%, i.e. for every 1 liter of groundwater recharge, 0.7 liters are extracted. This could translate into an increase of up to 2 meters every year. In semi-critical and critical areas, the percentage is 70-90% and 90-100%, respectively, indicating a recharge limitation of 0.5-1 m per year. In overexploited areas, the percentage exceeds 100%, which means that extraction is greater than recharge and the water table goes deeper.
Of the 34 areas in Delhi, 13 were classified as “overexploited” in 2023 and 15 in 2022.
The report stated that 0.23 billion cubic meters were extracted for the residential sector, and 0.08 billion cubic meters for irrigation. Recharge was separated during the monsoon and non-monsoon seasons, with 0.20 billion cubic meters being recharged during the monsoon alone (June-September), while the remaining 0.18 billion cubic meters came in the non-monsoon months.
Overall, 0.12 billion cubic meters came from rainfall, while the remaining recharge was attributed to other sources – including canals, surface water irrigation, groundwater irrigation, tanks, ponds, and water conservation structures such as rainwater harvesting pits.
Shashank Shekhar, an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at Delhi University, said the decline in the extraction rate is somewhat positive and is likely due to a combination of factors.
“This cannot be attributed to good monsoons or heavy rainfall alone. One requires proper recharge structures to actually capture the rainfall, considering that large parts of the city have also been cemented. At the same time, there is a continuous push on an annual basis to curb illegal groundwater extraction by providing proper water connections to households,” Shekhar said, noting that this will reflect positively in the coming years, as the groundwater table gradually starts rising.
