JAIPUR: The state human rights commission has sought a report from the Public Health Engineering Department and the state groundwater authority on the rate of depletion of groundwater and the number of reverse osmosis plants and their functioning. The SHRC has sought the report by early January.
The SHRC, in its order of October 30, said media reports of the rate of withdrawal of groundwater showed figures that were a cause for concern. While PHED found that withdrawal of underground water had been 1,40,000 hectare meters in Jaipur alone, just 67,000 hectare metres had been recharged in 2011. Besides the problem of such mismatch between withdrawal and recharge, there were also reports that chlorination alone was not purifying water anymore.
The PHED had installed reverse osmosis plants for purification, but this too appeared not to work as desired. Jodhpur alone had 128 of these - each of these cost at least Rs20 lakh to install, but many went kaput shortly after installation. Some had to be changed. Personnel were engaged at just about Rs2000 a month to take care of these plants, which were kept running for about 16 hours each day. It was hard to find people to take up this work, under these conditions.
The rapid expansion of habitations and the construction of high-rise structures had also caused depletion of groundwater table, SHRC noted, seeking to know if any estimates were made about how water would be supplied once the high-rise was constructed. Were permissions sought from the water authority before buildings are constructed?
The SHRC has sought information on groundwater extraction and recharge in the past 10 years. What are the efforts the state government is making to conserve groundwater? What measures are in place to see that clean water is supplied to the people? How many RO plants have been installed? What are the terms on which people are hired for the upkeep of these? What are the obstacles in the way of smooth functioning of RO plants? Are water needs of still-to-be-built structures properly accounted for in the planning process?
The SHRC has offered the state two months to file a detailed report in this matter and marked copies of the order to the state chief secretary, PHED and groundwater authority.
The SHRC, in its order of October 30, said media reports of the rate of withdrawal of groundwater showed figures that were a cause for concern. While PHED found that withdrawal of underground water had been 1,40,000 hectare meters in Jaipur alone, just 67,000 hectare metres had been recharged in 2011. Besides the problem of such mismatch between withdrawal and recharge, there were also reports that chlorination alone was not purifying water anymore.
The PHED had installed reverse osmosis plants for purification, but this too appeared not to work as desired. Jodhpur alone had 128 of these - each of these cost at least Rs20 lakh to install, but many went kaput shortly after installation. Some had to be changed. Personnel were engaged at just about Rs2000 a month to take care of these plants, which were kept running for about 16 hours each day. It was hard to find people to take up this work, under these conditions.
The rapid expansion of habitations and the construction of high-rise structures had also caused depletion of groundwater table, SHRC noted, seeking to know if any estimates were made about how water would be supplied once the high-rise was constructed. Were permissions sought from the water authority before buildings are constructed?
The SHRC has sought information on groundwater extraction and recharge in the past 10 years. What are the efforts the state government is making to conserve groundwater? What measures are in place to see that clean water is supplied to the people? How many RO plants have been installed? What are the terms on which people are hired for the upkeep of these? What are the obstacles in the way of smooth functioning of RO plants? Are water needs of still-to-be-built structures properly accounted for in the planning process?
The SHRC has offered the state two months to file a detailed report in this matter and marked copies of the order to the state chief secretary, PHED and groundwater authority.
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