| Sanction Date: | 15.12.2025 | |||
| Project Category | Category I | |||
| Year | 2025-2026 | |||
| Project Duration | 3 Years | |||
| BTA : | WRM | |||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Leh District, Ladakh, 113 villages of Leh District, Ladakh of 7 subdivisions 14 Blocks |
|||
| Organization/ Implementation Agency: | Department of Applied Geology NIT Raipur | |||
| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | ||
| 1. | NA | |||
| Lead Proponent: | Dr. D.C. Jhariya |
|||
| Project Brief Description: | Leh district in Ladakh, a fragile cold desert ecosystem, faces growing water stress due to climate change, tourism, and urbanization. Traditional sources such as springs, snow-fed streams, and glacier melt are declining with reduced snowfall, retreating glaciers, and erratic rainfall, while unregulated borewell extraction has led to falling water tables, weak recharge, and contamination by arsenic, uranium, and chromium. These challenges, compounded by land-use changes, poor monitoring, and uneven access, leave rural and marginalized groups most vulnerable. To address this, the project proposes using Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) methods for aquifer mapping, integrated with hydrochemical, isotopic, and socio-economic data to develop an Aquifer Information System (AIS) and groundwater models. Coupled with ecosystem-based adaptation—community participation, water-saving measures, and innovations like artificial glaciers and ice stupas—the initiative aims to enhance groundwater governance, build climate resilience, and secure sustainable livelihoods in Leh. | |||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
|
|||
| Activity Chart (For 3 years) | ||||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs.29,695,000/- (Rupees Two Crore Ninety Six Lakh Ninety Five Thousand Only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
|
• To establish a comprehensive and scientifically validated baseline of the physical-hydrogeological system, groundwater quality regime, and socio- hydrological interdependencies at micro-watershed and aquifer scale. • To quantitatively simulate aquifer dynamics and contaminant dispersion using physically based models and produce multi-criteria vulnerability zonation outputs for aquifer management. • To deploy an integrated spatially enabled Aquifer Information System (AIS), generate policy-ready groundwater governance frameworks, and mainstream findings into local and national water security agendas.. |
• Baseline hydrogeological, groundwater quality, and socio-hydrological assessment for target micro-watersheds and aquifers. • Aquifer and contaminant transport models with vulnerability zonation maps. • Integrated, spatially enabled Aquifer Information System (AIS) with real-time and static data layers. • Groundwater risk management framework and policy brief tailored for Ladakh’s cold desert context. • Community engagement outputs including awareness modules and stakeholder consultations. • Technical manuals, SOPs, and decision-support guidelines for local agencies |
• Monitoring in comparison to the baseline information/ data to be provided by the proponent: • No. of aquifers and micro-watersheds surveyed with validated hydrogeological data. • Socio-hydrological indicators documented (household water demand, usage trends, climate sensitivity). • Area and population covered under vulnerability zonation and risk mapping. • AIS performance metrics (data completeness, update frequency, system uptime, user logins). • No. of communities trained and improvement in groundwater-use awareness. • No. of research papers, technical reports, and policy documents published. |
| S.No. | No. of Sanctioned Post | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 02 SRF | @ Rs.42,000/- + 20% HRA |
| 2. | 02 JRF | @ Rs.37,000/- + 20% HRA |
| 3. | Field Workers | Rs.1,50,000/ Year |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Use of Equipment/ Details | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | 01 Unit Transient electromagnetic (TEM) System @Rs.1.15 Cr, 01 Unit Backpack lidar integrated with GNSS and the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) @Rs.18 Lakh, 01 Vacuum high temperature induction furnace with data acquisition system @Rs.20 Lakh, 01 Laptop workstation for data analysis and processing @Rs.2.50 Lakh, Virtual storage drives @Rs.0.75 Lakh, Hardware (Storage device) @Rs.0.50 Lakh, 05 Snow depth sensor @Rs.3.0 Lakh per unit, 10 flow meter @Rs.0.60 Lakh per unit, 6 Unit Open Channel Flow Meter of @Rs.0.80 Lakh, 10 Digital water level recorder @Rs.1.50 Lakh per unit. | 59,26,500/- |
