A decision framework on sustainable groundwater resource management for prolonged dry condition in Eastern India Plateau region

More than 4.40 million of the Jangalmahal area of Eastern India have been experiencing a prolonged dry condition with a limited capacity for groundwater recharge compared to plain land. Thus, the management of groundwater resource requires accurate information of potential aquifer recharge areas. This study evaluates the groundwater recharge potential zones (GRPZ) using multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach, like analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and geo-statistical models like, frequency ratio (FR), weights-of-evidence (WOE), and evidential belief function (EBF) and assess the seasonal groundwater fluctuation level. We used remote sensing techniques to prepare the twelve conditioning layers. The geo-statistical models of FR, WOE, and EBF were used to reclassify, normalise, and analyse the conditioning factors. After developing the groundwater potential index (GPI), the four models are applied to create the GRPZ map. The FR and EBF models revealed comparatively better representation, where 21.94% and 21.25% of highly GRPZ covering the area of 2103 km 2 and 2173 km 2 , respectively. More than half of the total Jangalmahal region (FR = 53% and EBF = 52%) is found as low recharge potential due to its complex lithological structure. A linear regression between model outcomes of GRPZ and Groundwater fluctuation level established the relationship more profoundly. Henceforth, this study proposed some significant strategies to increase the groundwater recharge capacities in the dry region that would be helpful in the sustainable groundwater resource management.