Groundwater is an important source for drinking water supply in hard rock terrain of Bundelkhand massif particularly in District Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, India. An attempt has been made in this work to understand the suitability of groundwater for human consumption. The parameters like pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, copper, manganese, silver, zinc, iron and nickel were analysed to estimate the groundwater quality. The water quality index (WQI) has been applied to categorize the water quality viz: excellent, good, poor, etc. which is quite useful to infer the quality of water to the people and policy makers in the concerned area. The WQI in the study area ranges from 4.75 to 115.93. The overall WQI in the study area indicates that the groundwater is safe and potable except few localized pockets in Charkhari and Jaitpur Blocks. The Hill-Piper Trilinear diagram reveals that the groundwater of the study area falls under Na+-Cl−, mixed Ca2+-Mg2+-Cl− and Ca2+-$${\text{HCO}}_{3}^{ - }$$ HCO 3 - types. The granite-gneiss contains orthoclase feldspar and biotite minerals which after weathering yields bicarbonate and chloride rich groundwater. The correlation matrix has been created and analysed to observe their significant impetus on the assessment of groundwater quality. The current study suggests that the groundwater of the area under deteriorated water quality needs treatment before consumption and also to be protected from the perils of geogenic/anthropogenic contamination.

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In hard rock terrain, the groundwater occurs in two zones viz. shallow zone (in overburden) and deeper fractured zones mainly through secondary porosity. The groundwater level through 23 observation wells (fifteen dug wells and eight piezometers) has been monitored during pre and post-monsoon periods. An attempt has been made to evaluate the impact of rainfall on the groundwater level in the hard rock area of Mahoba district in the Bundelkhand region. The study depicts the impact of rainfall over the long-term groundwater level trend and establishes a conceptual structure to understand the hydrological stress conditions. Due to overexploitation, the groundwater condition has reached to the category of a critical stage. The severity and duration of water-level responses to hydrologic stresses have been analyzed statistically as well as graphically. The groundwater level is spatially and temporally variable in hard rock area and essentially depends upon the amount of rainfall, geological condition, and topographic slope. The analyzed rainfall data have been graded as a good year and bad year based on the amount of precipitation. The long-term groundwater level trend (2006-2016) indicates a sharp decline in groundwater level trend in the western part due to higher base flow and poor recharge. On the other hand, due to the presence of thicker overburden and runoff accumulation therein, the groundwater level is rising in the northern part of the study area. It also validates that there is very fair control of slope and thickness of overburden on the groundwater regime apart from the rainfall.

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Agriculture remains the most important occupation and source of livelihood for the majority of the population in our country. The study of cropping patterns, diversification and production is important in agricultural development. Cropping pattern is the proportion of area under various crops while crop diversification refers to the raising of various crops. Agricultural productivity is an input-output ratio that facilitates efficient comparison. These concepts are influenced by various geo-climatic, socio-economic and institutional factors. Tarai region is a marshy moist area lying between Himalayan foothills and Gangetic plains. In Uttar Pradesh, the region extends over 7 districts from Pilibhit to Maharajganj. This region is predominantly agrarian. The present paper aims to study the cropping pattern, Spatio-temporal pattern of crop diversification and production of crops at the district level in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh for the period of 2007-08 to 2017-18. The study is based on agricultural data collected from Statistical Abstract of Uttar Pradesh. 13 crops under 4 categories are selected in total. The study uses the location quotient technique for calculating crop concentration, the Gibbs-Martin (1962) method for calculating crop diversification and other statistical measures for analysis. It was found that cropped area of the region has decreased in the reference period and the region is dominated by the cultivation of cereal crops and sugarcane. Low crop diversification was recorded in the region due to similar physical conditions and the practice of traditional agriculture. Production and productivity of crops have greatly increased primarily due to the increasing production of sugarcane. It is believed that the present study will help ascertain the ground reality of agriculture in the study region.

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