The Punah Bharan Mobile Application
Context: The Union Minister of Jal Shakti launched the Punah Bharan Mobile Application and its companion web portal to strengthen scientific groundwater recharge planning across India.
About The Punah Bharan Mobile Application:
What It Is?
- A geospatial decision-support mobile application and web portal designed to enable evidence-based, village-level planning for artificial groundwater recharge structures.
Developed By: Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N).
Nodal Organizations: Developed in collaboration with the National Water Mission (NWM) under the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD&GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Aim: To transition groundwater recharge planning from traditional ad-hoc approaches to a data-driven, scientific framework that maximizes rainwater harvesting and enhances long-term aquifer sustainability.
Key Features:
- Localized Radius Search: Identifies potential groundwater recharge zones within a 3-km radius of the user’s location, enabling precise site selection for water conservation.
- Site-Specific Recharge Recommendations: Suggests suitable check dams, recharge shafts, percolation ponds and injection wells based on local terrain, aquifer characteristics and hydrological conditions.
- Village-Level ARS Zonation Maps: Provides high-resolution village-level recharge maps, integrating GIS layers and spatial analysis tools for scientific groundwater management and planning.
- Multi-Layer Geospatial Integration: Combines rainfall, groundwater levels, aquifer yield, land slope and drainage networks to assess recharge potential and identify suitable intervention sites.
Significance:
- Empowers Gram Panchayats, field engineers and watershed committees to undertake evidence-based water conservation planning using geospatial intelligence.
- Improves investments under MGNREGA, Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Atal Bhujal Yojana by prioritising scientifically suitable groundwater recharge locations.
- Promotes aquifer replenishment and drought resilience in over-exploited groundwater regions, particularly across semi-arid and water-stressed areas.
