Bengaluru Urban among five districts with over 100% groundwater extraction: Report
Bengaluru: Five districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru Urban, are facing alarming levels of groundwater extraction exceeding 100%, according to recent data. However, the state overall has shown improvement compared to earlier estimates by the Union government.
Official data, cited by Deccan Herald on Thursday, revealed that Kolar leads the list with groundwater extraction at 193.35%, followed by Bengaluru Urban (186.7%), Chikkaballapura (164.33%), Bengaluru Rural (147.05%), and Chitradurga (144.44%).
Groundwater extraction above 70% is classified as ‘semi-critical,’ between 90-100% as ‘critical,’ and anything over 100% is considered ‘overexploited.’ The statewide average groundwater extraction stands at 68.44%.
To address the issue, the Minor Irrigation Department has launched the ‘Water is Future’ project. The first phase targets 525 gram panchayats (GPs) across 27 taluks in 15 districts marked as “critical” or “overexploited.” Notably, 86 of these GPs are located in Bengaluru Urban district alone, added the report.
While the data for the five districts are worrying, Karnataka’s overall groundwater status has improved nationally. As per the National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India, 2024, conducted by the Union government, Karnataka ranks 10th in groundwater extraction, a better position than the 5th rank in the previous report.
Punjab tops the list nationwide with 156.87% extraction, followed by Rajasthan (149.86%) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (142.17%). In South India, Pondicherry (75.91%) and Tamil Nadu (74.26%) report higher groundwater exploitation than Karnataka.
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Evading core issue: Siddaramaiah slams Centre on sugarcane FRP in letter to Pralhad Joshi
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched a sharp attack on the Central Government Saturday, accusing it of "evading the core issue" of the widening gap between cultivation costs and the price realisation for sugarcane, which he stated has pushed lakhs of farmers into distress.
In a detailed, three-page letter to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Siddaramaiah dismantled the Centre's claims on the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), ethanol blending, and financial support to the state.
The Chief Minister's letter was a direct rebuttal to one he had received from Joshi regarding the "plight of sugarcane farmers in Karnataka."
"Farcical" FRP claims
Siddaramaiah challenged the Centre's announced FRP of ₹355 per quintal at 10.25% recovery, calling the government's claim of a 105.2% margin over production cost "unfortunately, a farce."
"Every farmer in Karnataka knows that since 2014, the cost of fertilizers, labour, transportation, and other inputs have more than doubled," Siddaramaiah wrote. He contrasted this with the FRP, which he stated has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just 4.47% since 2014, rising from ₹210 to ₹355.
He also pointed out that the FRP was not increased for two consecutive years during the NDA regime, causing an average loss of ₹20 per quintal to farmers. This, he argued, was in stark contrast to the UPA years, when the CAGR for FRP was 12.96%.
The Chief Minister accused the Central Government of "artificially pegging higher" the recovery rate to manipulate the numbers. "While it was 9.5% during UPA, the NDA government raised it to 10.25%, reducing the effective FRP," the letter stated. "On a comparable 9.5% recovery rate, the present FRP is only ₹329 per quintal, making the real growth a meagre 3.8% CAGR. This manipulation of numbers has betrayed the farmers."
Siddaramaiah also refuted the Centre's portrayal of ethanol blending as a "boon" to the sugar sector. He argued that the financial benefits are not being passed on to the farmers.
UPA Era: With ethanol blending below 5% and 9.5% recovery, the FRP recorded a robust CAGR of 12.96%.
NDA Era: With ethanol blending at approximately 20% and 10.25% recovery, the CAGR has "dropped to just 3.8%."
He noted that ethanol supply from Karnataka distilleries has only "marginally" increased from 38 crore litres in 2022-23 to 47 crore litres in 2024-25, despite an installed capacity of 270 crore litres.
The larger question remains unanswered," he wrote, "why has the benefit of ethanol blending not been passed on to the farmers?
The Chief Minister made several demands and accusations:
New MSP mechanism: He urged the Centre to devise a new MSP for sugar that categorises "domestic and commercial consumption separately," so that higher profits from commercial sales are reflected in the price paid to farmers.
Data transparency: Challenging claims that the Centre has provided "substantial financial assistance" to sugar mills, Siddaramaiah demanded the "mill-wise data" of such support in Karnataka to verify if the benefits "have truly reached the intended stakeholders."
Absence of Union Ministers: He expressed disappointment that "none of the Union Ministers from Karnataka attended the meeting held on 7th November 2025," where stakeholders were invited to discuss the issue.
Tax devolution: He accused the Union Government of a "step-motherly attitude," claiming Karnataka has been denied "over ₹2 lakh crore" in its rightful share of tax devolution and grants over the past five years.
Siddaramaiah concluded with a direct appeal to Joshi as a "senior Union Minister from Karnataka" to "stand with the farmers."
"The real measure of governance is not in statistical claims but in the smiles on the faces of farmers," he wrote.
