Storage in 146 reservoirs 6 per cent lower than last year

New Delhi: The live storage available in 146 reservoirs across India is down 6% from last year, according to the latest data from the Central Water Commission (CWC). Live storage stands at 94% of the amount in the corresponding period last year. However, it is 121% of live water capacity of the average of the last 10 years for this time of the year. Experts said that despite the healthy levels of the reservoir, rainfall during the sowing period is extremely important as the non-irrigated area in the country constitutes almost 49% of the net sown area essentially dependent upon monsoon.

"A timely pick-up in rainfall in July 2023 (an important month for sowing) is crucial to support the sowing of rain-fed crops such as rice, pulses, cotton etc. Given below-normal rainfall forecast for June 2023, a healthy pick-up of rains in July 2023 is crucial to support timely sowing of kharif crops," said Aditi Nayar, chief economist, head - Research & Outreach, ICRA.

The live storage available in these reservoirs is 52.15 BCM, which is 29% of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs as on June 1. However, last year the live storage available in these reservoirs for the corresponding period was 55.602 BCM and the average of the last 10 year's live storage was 43.163 BCM.


The numbers of reservoirs having storage exceeding last year are 52 and reservoirs having storage more than average for the last ten years is 79. The data from CWC also said that 13 reservoirs have live storage less than or equal to 20% with respect to last year, while around 29 reservoirs have storage less than or equal to 50% of the year before. The states having lesser storage in percentage terms than last year for the corresponding period are West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand, AP&TG (Two combined projects in both states), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

States having better storage than last year for the corresponding period are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.