History of groundwater development in Himalayas  is the journey of developing groundwater by Ritesh Arya 

Dr Ritesh Arya started his carrier as a hydrogeologist in Himachal Government in 1993 @Rs 82.80 paise. At that time the entire water supply schemes for providing drinking water facilities to the people were based on tapping surface water resources only. Groundwater data on mountain areas was negligible and the Himalayas were considered to be devoid of substantial groundwater potential. Prior to his work the entire exercise to develop groundwater resources in the mountain state of Himachal was based on the hit-and-trial method. Arya studied samples of more than 6000 borewells and classified the Himalayas into various Hydrostratigraphic zones (International Geological Congress, China, 1996). Later he prepared a model to explain the occurrence and movement of groundwater resources in the entire Himalayas (International Conference on Groundwater Solutions, Australia, 1997). This formed the basis of his future work. The first break to prove his hypothesis came in 1998 when the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in collaboration with Water Aid a UK-based NGO asked him to provide safe drinking water to the Tibetans, settled in Leh. The condition of the drinking water supply was very poor. The only source of water for the Tibetan settlement of 10000 dwellings was from water tankers. Situations deteriorated in winters when temperatures dropped to minus 30 degrees, even in summers the situation was very pathetic as silt from glacier melt rendered the distribution system nonfunctional. Arya not only prepared a model report but also executed the project to provide safe drinking water to the people based on the exploration and development of groundwater resources with a 100% guarantee i.e. if no water is provided no money will be charged. In 2000 the entire Tibetan Settlement became the first community in the entire hill states of the Hindu Kush Himalayas to boost of getting safe drinking water 24 hours 365 days. Not only it changed the entire socio-economy of the habitants of the cold mountain deserts of Ladakh but also worked as a model to show that groundwater could provide safe drinking water to the entire region on an economical and sustainable basis.

Of the various projects undertaken by him, the experience of providing drinking water to the troops stationed at the Siachen Glacier was most challenging as for the first time groundwater was explored to provide safe drinking water to the troops stationed in the highest battlefield of the world. Prior to this, the habitants were forced to melt ice to quench their thirst. Now they have piped water even in winter when temperatures drop to minus 50ºC.

However, the main question was to know the potential and sustainability of the groundwater source in time and space. This was answered when a borewell drilled by him in 2001 to augment the water supply scheme for the Indian army yielded artesian conditions at an altitude of 3500 meters above the mean sea level. In 2004 for this facet, he became the first geologist to find a place in Guinness World Records.

This also showed that there is an ample amount of groundwater available below the cold deserts and holds the key to checking desertification due to global warming in the highland region and turning the cold mountain deserts green. (International Seminar Royal Geographical Society London,2005).