2 min readPatnaApr 14, 2026 05:55 AM IST
Where are Bihar’s missing water bodies? That’s the question raised by the Centre’s latest water body census, which shows that some 8,940 water bodies in the state are missing.
The Second Census of Water Bodies for Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Ladakh, and Sikkim, conducted by the Ministry of Jal Shakti last year, shows that of the state’s 45,793 water bodies recorded in 2018-19, 36,856 still exist — meaning close to 9,000 have vanished.
According to the census, 45 percent of these water bodies are owned by the Bihar government, although the state’s revenue and land reforms department has no information on how many are encroached — either partially or wholly.
“We are looking at the water bodies census findings and will get an updated report on encroachment-free public ponds,” one official said.
The census shows that 85 percent of the water bodies are in rural areas. The vast majority — about 91 percent — are ponds, while the rest are lakes, tanks, reservoirs, check dams, and percolation dams.
The census shows that of the 35,027 ponds in Bihar in 2018-19, only 33,618 remain — meaning 1,409 have entirely vanished.
The number of tanks has come down from 4,221 to 859, lakes from 2,693 to 258, and reservoirs from 2,156 to 315. Of the state’s water bodies, most (40.4 percent) belong to panchayats, followed by the State WRD/State Irrigation (22.3 percent).
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Threats to the state’s water bodies from encroachments — especially by the land mafia — have been a subject of concern. In a 2023 order, the Patna High Court said 1,045 ponds had been encroached upon in the state.
Responding to a question on the disappearance of public water bodies during the recent Budget Session of the Bihar Assembly, revenue and land reforms minister Vijay Sinha said only five ponds had been under encroachment. Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) MLA IP Gupta contested this claim. “Now that the latest water bodies census exposes government lies, we will raise the question again,” IP Gupta told The Indian Express.
The Second Census of Water Bodies was aimed at “building up a comprehensive database on water bodies for effective planning and policy making on preservation, conservation and renovation of water bodies”.
