RAJGARH DISTRICT

MADHYA PRADESH

Ministry of Water Resources

Central Ground Water Board
North Central Region
BHOPAL
2013

1
RAJGARH DISTRICT AT A GLANCE

S.No. Items Statistics

1. General Information
i) Geographical area 615498 Ha
ii) Administrative Divisions (As on 2006)
Number of Tahsil/Blocks 7/6
Number of Panchayats 627
Number of Villages 1744
iii) Population (Census 2011) 12,54,085
1,546,541
iv) Normal Rainfall 985.8mm
2. Geomorphology
1. Major Physiographic Units: 1. Gently undulating, pediplain,
2. uplands and residuals hills
2. Major Drainage: 3. i. Parwati River & its tributaries
4. ii. Kali Sindh River & its tributaries

3. Land Use (000Ha)

a) Forest area 17.63
b) Cultivable area 423.05
c) Net area sown 423.05
d) Gross cropped area 607.71
4. Major Soil Types Alluvium, Black cotton soil and Sandy soil
5. Principal Crops
Soyabean, Gram, Maize, Wheat, Jowar

6. Irrigation By Different Sources No. Area (000ha)

Dug wells 86281 129.50

Tube wells/Bore wells 11002 36.236
Tanks/Ponds 59 3.986
Canals 36 5.775
Other Sources - 104.36
Total Irrigated Area - 178.80
Gross Irrigated Area - 178.80

7. Number 0f Ground Water Monitoring Wells

of CGWB (As on 31.3.2013)
Number of Dug Wells 18
Number of Piezometers 14 (7 Deep + 7 Shallow)
8 Predominant Geological Formations Alluvium, Deccan Trap basalts, Vindhyan
shales and sandstone

9 Hydrogeology
Major Water Bearing Formation Sandy alluvium,
Weathered/vesicular basalt, flow contacts
and fractured sandstone.

Pre-monsoon depth to water level during 4.75- 22.32 m bgl

2012 0.47 17.83 m bgl
Post-monsoon depth to water level during
2006 2.08 to 10.06 (fall)
Long-term water level trend in 10 years
(2003-2012) cm/yr

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10. Ground Water Exploration By CGWB (As on 31.3.2013)
No of wells drilled (EW, OW, PZ, Total) 83 (EW-30, OW-38, PZ-15)
Depth Range 48.80 210.30 m. bgl
Discharge Meager 13.25 lps
Specific Capacity -
2
Transmissivity 0 132.48 m /day
11. Ground Water Quality
0
Presence of Chemical constituents more than EC Range (435-2120 s/cm at 25 C)
permissible limit (e.g. EC, F, As, Fe) Nitrate-12-276
Flouride-0.02-5.59.

12 Dynamic Ground Water Resources (2009) (ham)

Net Annual Ground Water availability 84736
Existing Gross Ground Water Draft 69067
Projected Demand for Domestic and 4079
Industrial uses up to 25 years
Stage of Ground Water Development 82 %
13 Awareness and Training Activity
Mass Awareness Programme Organised Nil

Water Management Training Programme Nil

14 Efforts of Artificial Recharge & Rainwater Harvesting

Projects completed by CGWB Ajnar Sub-Surface Dyke
Projects under technical guidance of CGWB Technology Mission on drinking
water

15 Ground Water Control and Regulation

Number of OE Blocks Nil
Number of Semi Critical Blocks 4, Biora, Khilchipur, Narsinghgarh,
Sarangpur
Number of Safe Blocks 2, Rajgarh, Zeerapur
16 Major Groundwater Problems and Issues Depletion in groundwater level and
deterioration of groundwater quality

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Rajgarh district was constituted after the formation of Madhya Bharat in May
1948. The district is located at western part of Madhya Pradesh and is bounded by
Shajapur district in the south as well as west. The district of Sehore, Bhopal, Guna
and Jhalawar (Rajasthan) enclose it from the southeast, east, northeast, and north
directions respectively. Rajgarh district extends between the parallels of North
latitudes 230 27' 12" and 240 17' 20" and between the meridians of east longitudes
760 11' 15" and 770 14'. It has a quadrangular shape with the northern and western
sides longer than the southern and eastern sides, respectively. The district is well
connected by road NH-3, NH-7 and railway network.

The total geographical area of the district is 6,155 sq km with a population

of 15,46,541 according to census 2011. The details of administrative units are
given in Table.

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Table: Administrative units of Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh.
S.No Tahsil Sub-Division Area in Sq Km No. of Villages
1 Rajgarh Rajgarh 1105 387
2 Khilchipur Khilchipur 0792 335
3 Zirapur Zirapur 0845 220
4 Biora Biora 1148 287
5 Narsinghgarh Narsinghgarh 1368 306
6 Sarangpur Sarangpur 0905 192
6,155 1,744

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) Activities:

Shri G. P. Dalal Sr. Hydrogeologist, Shri P. K. Sahajpal, Jr. Hydrogeologist
and Shri S. Mehrotra Asstt. Hydrogeologist conducted Systematic
hydrogeological surveys in the district during 1987-88.
Under Technology Mission on drinking water CGWB has provided
technical guidance to the State Government for locating suitable drilling
sites during 1987- 90.
Shri. M. L. Parmar, Assistant Hydrogeologist and Shri. S. N. Bangar
Assistant Hydrogeologist conducted Reappraisal hydrogeological surveys in
the district area during 1994-95.
Under Central Sector Scheme, CGWB has provided financial and technical
support to State PHED to construct a Sub-Surface dyke at Barwakalan
village on Ajnar Nadi in Rajgarh district during 1987-90.

2.0 RAINFALL AND CLIMATE

The normal annual rainfall of Rajgarh district is 985.8 mm. The district
receives maximum rainfall during southwest monsoon period i.e. June to
November. About 92% of annual rainfall is received during monsoon season.

3.0 GEOMORPHOLOGY & SOIL TYPES

Rajgarh district forms the part of Malwa plateau, generally, an undulating

topography. The Vindhyan hill range occupies the southeastern part of the district.
The basaltic rocks of Malwa plateau occupy almost entire district except
southeastern part. Recent alluvium deposits are found along the river course. The
highest elevation of 576.08 m amsl in the district is recorded near Narsinghgarh, a
hillock of Vindhyan ranges.

Rivers of Chambal Sub-basin drain the entire Rajgarh district. All the rivers
are almost northerly flowing. Kalisindh and Parwati rivers at western and eastern
side bound the district respectively. The Newaj River flows through the middle
portion of the district.

Almost three-fourths area of the district is covered with black cotton soils
forms by the weathering of basaltic rocks. The rest part of the district area is
covered with yellowish-red, mixed soils derived from sandstone and shale. The

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alluvial soils are found along the river courses. The higher elevations i.e. the hilly
regions have a cover of murum, which is made up of small rounded pieces of
weathered basalts. The Vindhyans have a thin cover of sandy loams. The alluvium
is derived from hill slopes by numerous streams and watercourses.

4.0 GROUNDWATER SCENARIO

4.1 Geology
The general geological successions in the district are given in table.

Table: General geological successions of Rajgarh district.

Age Stratigraphic Unit Lithology

Quaternary to Recent Alluvium and Laterite
---------------------- Unconformity -----------------------
Upper Cretaceous to Deccan Trap Basalt
Lower Eocene
Upper Proterozoic Vindhyan Super Group Sandstone and shale
(Bhander Group)

4.2 Hydrogeology

The general hydrogeological conditions of the district are depicted in figure-2

and formation wise settings are discussed below.

4.2.1 Vindhyan Super Group

The rocks of the Vindhyan Super Group are exposed in the southern and
southeastern part of district. These rocks form NW-SE trending ridges and small
isolated hillocks (inliers). The Upper Bhander sandstone is reddish brown to purple
in colour, massive, medium to coarse grained, exhibiting well-defined bedding with
plenty of current bedding and occasional ripple marks. The sandstone is highly
jointed with four sets of prominent vertical joints. Because of its compact nature the
Bhander sandstone is poor repository of groundwater. In sandstone, the joints and
fractures control the occurrence of groundwater in areas located in topographical
depression and adjacent to surface water bodies. The soil and weathered profile
developed on the Vindhyan is generally thin and as a result groundwater occurs at
shallow depth under unconfined conditions in the areas where the rock is jointed,
fractured and weathered. The Vindhyan rocks underlying the weathered basalts in
topographical depressions are often found to form moderate aquifers. The surface
water runoff along the slopes of hillocks formed by Vindhyan inliers is recharged to
the deeper jointed and fractured sandstone through overlying cover of weathered
basalt.

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4.2.2 Deccan Trap

The Deccan Trap basalts occur in the district as lava flow infillings in the
valleys of pre-existing Vindhyan topography. The Vindhyan sandstone show
`baking effect due to the hot lava coming in contact with sandstones, the lava flows
are mostly `Pahoehoe character and less of `Aa character. The individual lava flow
range from 10 to 30 m in thickness and consist generally of two units i.e. the upper
most vesicular/amygdaloidal basalts with their weathering top portion often overlain
by grey or red clay and the massive thin amygdular layer (with pipe amygdulars)
towards the bottom.

Shallow groundwater occurs in the weathered, vesicular, jointed and fractured

basalt under unconfined conditions. In areas where the weathered basalt layer is
extensive a continuous phreatic aquifer can be traced to some distance. However,
due to low permeability of weathered basalts the aquifer sustains limited
groundwater withdrawal, mainly through open wells. On higher ground the
weathered basalts may be thin or even absent. In such condition groundwater
occurrence is restricted to the joints and fractures. The groundwater in Deccan
Traps at deeper levels occurs under semi-confined to confine conditions, at the
different lava flow contacts, at Deccan trap and underlying Vindhyan contact or in
the deeper jointed/fractured and vesicular amygdular basaltic horizons.

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The thickness of the individual aquifers varies from a few centimetres to a
few meters and is generally restricted in their regional extent. The recharge to the
deep aquifers takes place from the phreatic aquifers through deep joints, faults and
contact zones. The red bole horizons (clay) generally act as semi confining or
confining layers for the deeper aquifers.

4.2.3 Alluvium and Laterite

Localized patches of alluvium cover occur along the banks of major and
minor rivers and streams in the district. In general it is difficult to differentiate
between alluvium and product of black cotton soil underlain by yellow clay with
kankar. The thickness of alluvium varies from few metres to 30 m. Laterite capping
on top of Deccan Trap basalt are seen in localized patches. The rocks are
generally bouldery in nature, highly ferruginous and weathered to yellowish red soil.

4.3 Ground Water Levels

To monitor the seasonal and annual change in quantity and quality of

groundwater, CGWB has established 18 Ground Water Monitoring Wells and 14
piezometers in the district.

4.3.1 Pre-monsoon (May 2012)

Depth to water level,

during pre-monsoon,
ranges between
4.75 m bg l to
22.32m bgl. In the
most part of the
district, water level
ranges between 9
and 12 m bgl during
the pre-monsoon.

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4.3.2 Post-monsoon (November 2012)

During post-
monsoon period,
water level
ranges from 0.47
m bgl to 17.83m
bgl. In major part
of the district,
water level lies
between 3 to 6 m
bgl.

4.3.3 Ground Water level trend (May2003 to May 2012)

Analyses of ground water level data of pre-monsoon period indicate that
there is declining trend in water level in entire district. In general, decline in the
range of 2.08 to 10.06 cm/year in water level has been observed in the district.

4.4 Aquifer Parameters

The exploratory drilling has been carried out in Deccan Trap basalt
underlain by Vindhyan shale and sandstone. In Deccan Traps, the vesicular,
weathered and fractured basalt form the aquifers while in Vindhyans, fractured
sandstones and shales forms aquifer. These exploratory wells have been drilled
down to the maximum depth of 210.30 m bgl and their yields have been recorded
maximum up to 13.25 lps. The piezometers were restricted to the depth range of
30 m, 60 m, 90 m and 120 m bgl only. The Transmissivity value has been
calculated as 4.0 X 10-4 at Mundla exploratory well site.

4.5 Ground Water Resources (2009):

Rajgarh district is underlain by mainly Basaltic lava flows of Deccan trap.
Dynamic ground water resources of the district have been estimated for base year -2008/09
on block-wise basis (Table). There are six assessment units (block) in the district which
fall under non-command . Biora, Khilchipur, Narsinghgarh and Sarangpur blocks of the
district are categorized as semi critical. Rajgarh and Zeerapur as safe. The highest stage of
ground water development is computed as 98 % in Narsinghgarh block. The net ground

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water availability in the district is 84,736 ham and ground water draft for all uses is 69,067
ham, making stage of ground water development 82 % as a whole for district. After making
allocation for future domestic and industrial supply for next 25 years, balance available
ground water for future irrigation would be 14,887 ham.

Table: Ground water availability and stage of development

DYNAMIC GROUND WATER RESOURCES (As on March, 2009)

S. No. Assessment Sub-unit Net Annual Existing Existing Existing Provision Net Ground Stage of Category
Unit Command/ Ground Gross Gross Gross for water Ground
Non- water Ground Ground Ground domestic, Availability water
Command/ Availability water water water and for future Development
(ham) Draft for Draft for Draft industrial irrigation d (%)
Irrigation Domestic for All requirement development
(ham) & uses supply to (ham)
Industrial (ham) next 25 year
water (2033)
Supply (ham)
(ham)
Command
Semi
1 Biora Non-Command 15248 11163 594 11757 730 3355 77
Critical
Semi
Block Total 15248 11163 594 11757 730 3355 77
Critical
Command
Semi
2 Khilchipur Non-Command 11389 9777 378 10155 489 1124 89
Critical
Semi
Block Total 11389 9777 378 10155 489 1124 89
Critical
Command
Semi
3 Narsingh garh Non-Command 19476 18209 797 19006 797 470 98
Critical
Semi
Block Total 19476 18209 797 19006 797 470 98
Critical
Command
4 Rajgarh Non-Command 14385 9369 496 9864 710 4306 69 Safe
Block Total 14385 9369 496 9864 710 4306 69 Safe
Command
Semi
5 Sarangpur Non-Command 12355 10173 611 10784 611 1571 87
Critical
Semi
Block Total 12355 10173 611 10784 611 1571 87
Critical
Command
6 Zeerapur Non-Command 11883 7081 420 7501 742 4061 63 Safe
Block Total 11883 7081 420 7501 742 4061 63 Safe

District Total 84736 65771 3296 69067 4079 14887 82

4.6 Ground Water Quality

Groundwater quality in the district is fresh to saline with EC value ranges

from 435 to 2120 s/cm at 250C. Nitrate was observed in the range of 12 to 276
mg/l whereas fluoride ranges from 0.02 to 5.59 mg/l.

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