India, June 30 -- Groundwater level in 16 per cent of the taluka, mandal, block-level units in the country fall under the "over-exploited" category, while 4 per cent falls under the "critical" category, government data shows.

Groundwater level of the 6,584 block, mandal, tehsil level units assessed by the Central Groundwater Board reveal that 4,520 units fall under the "safe category", according to the data shared by the government in Lok Sabha last week.

As many as 1,034 units have been categorised as "over-exploited", the data states.

Nearly 681 blocks, mandal, taluka level units in the country, constituting 10 per cent of the total figure, fall under the "semi-critical" category, while 253 fall under the "critical" category. Nearly ...