NGT stops govt from going ahead with new groundwater extraction guidelines citing ‘shortcomings’
Vishwa Mohan | TNN | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 21:39 ISTNEW DELHI: Noting “serious shortcomings” in the Centre’s latest notification on groundwater extraction guidelines, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the government not to go ahead with it and directed environment ministry to set up an expert panel to formulate an appropriate policy for conservation of the natural resource.
The panel, comprising of representatives from IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIM Ahmedabad, CPCB and NITI Aayog among other concerned agencies, is expected to submit its report to the ministry within two months.
The panel’s report, including its impact study in light of projected data on groundwater extraction for next 50 years, maybe a basis of fresh guidelines which the government is expected to furnish to the Tribunal by April 30. The matter will then be taken up for consideration in first week of May.
Though the government had claimed that the new guidelines aimed to ensure a “more robust groundwater regulatory mechanism in the country”, the NGT noted that the guidelines have, rather than laying stricter norms, liberalised extraction of groundwater adding to the crisis “unmindful of the ground situation and likely impact it will have on environment”.
“No data has been furnished to justify the policy reversal by way of uncontrolled liberalised drawal of groundwater in over-exploited, critical and semi-critical (OCS) areas,” the Bench, headed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, said in its order on Thursday.
The Tribunal’s order comes on various applications, including one from the environmentalist Vikrant Tongad, raising concerns over fast depletion of ground water in Noida, Greater Noida, Delhi and other areas in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“We had raised the groundwater depletion issue in NGT in 2012. Some other related cases were also attached to it. We were waiting for strong guidelines and a good mechanism for controlling groundwater withdrawal, but the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) had come out with some faulty guidelines in December 2018,” said Tongad while speaking on the order.
The Centre had on December 12, 2018, notified the new guidelines, introducing a concept of ‘Water Conservation Fee’ (WCF) for extracting groundwater for drinking, domestic use or industrial purposes, including those for packaged drinking water, from June 1.
It provides for a different amount of WCF for different types of users based on the quantum of extraction in OCS area so that the fee increases progressively from safe to over-exploited zones and from low to high water-consuming industries.
It, however, gives exemption to agricultural users (the largest consumer of groundwater), individual households (using less than one-inch diameter delivery pipe), users employing non-energised means to extract water and armed forces establishments during operational deployment or during mobilisation in forwarding locations.
Other exemptions (with certain requirements) under December 12 notification have been granted to strategic and operational infrastructure projects for armed forces, defence and paramilitary establishments and government water supply agencies.
Under new guidelines, domestic users will be exempted from WCF if they use less than 25,000 litres per month. A domestic user will have to pay Rs 1 per 1,000 litres if he uses more than 25,000 litres a month and Rs 2 per 1,000 litres if he uses more than 50,000 litres a month.
Currently, charges are being collected for permitting drawal of groundwater for commercial purposes in OCS areas. The CGWA has been regulating it through the issue of advisories, public notices, and grant of ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOC). But, there is hardly any effective surveillance mechanism, leading to over-exploitation of groundwater in most part of the country.
India is the largest user of groundwater in the world, extracting to the tune of 253 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) per year, which is about 25% of the global groundwater extraction. The groundwater extraction in India is primarily for irrigation, accounting for nearly 228 BCM which amounts to 90% of the annual groundwater extraction in the country.
The remaining 10% of extraction (25 BCM) is for drinking and domestic as well as industrial uses. Industrial use is estimated to account for only about 5% of the annual groundwater extraction in the country.
Out of the total of 6,584 groundwater assessment units, 1034 have been categorized as ‘Over-Exploited’, 253 as ‘Critical’, 681 as ‘Semi-Critical’ and 4,520 as ‘Safe’. The remaining 96 assessment units have been classified as ‘Saline’ due to non-availability of fresh groundwater due to the salinity problem.
The panel, comprising of representatives from IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIM Ahmedabad, CPCB and NITI Aayog among other concerned agencies, is expected to submit its report to the ministry within two months.
The panel’s report, including its impact study in light of projected data on groundwater extraction for next 50 years, maybe a basis of fresh guidelines which the government is expected to furnish to the Tribunal by April 30. The matter will then be taken up for consideration in first week of May.
Though the government had claimed that the new guidelines aimed to ensure a “more robust groundwater regulatory mechanism in the country”, the NGT noted that the guidelines have, rather than laying stricter norms, liberalised extraction of groundwater adding to the crisis “unmindful of the ground situation and likely impact it will have on environment”.
“No data has been furnished to justify the policy reversal by way of uncontrolled liberalised drawal of groundwater in over-exploited, critical and semi-critical (OCS) areas,” the Bench, headed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, said in its order on Thursday.
The Tribunal’s order comes on various applications, including one from the environmentalist Vikrant Tongad, raising concerns over fast depletion of ground water in Noida, Greater Noida, Delhi and other areas in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“We had raised the groundwater depletion issue in NGT in 2012. Some other related cases were also attached to it. We were waiting for strong guidelines and a good mechanism for controlling groundwater withdrawal, but the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) had come out with some faulty guidelines in December 2018,” said Tongad while speaking on the order.
The Centre had on December 12, 2018, notified the new guidelines, introducing a concept of ‘Water Conservation Fee’ (WCF) for extracting groundwater for drinking, domestic use or industrial purposes, including those for packaged drinking water, from June 1.
It provides for a different amount of WCF for different types of users based on the quantum of extraction in OCS area so that the fee increases progressively from safe to over-exploited zones and from low to high water-consuming industries.
It, however, gives exemption to agricultural users (the largest consumer of groundwater), individual households (using less than one-inch diameter delivery pipe), users employing non-energised means to extract water and armed forces establishments during operational deployment or during mobilisation in forwarding locations.
Other exemptions (with certain requirements) under December 12 notification have been granted to strategic and operational infrastructure projects for armed forces, defence and paramilitary establishments and government water supply agencies.
Under new guidelines, domestic users will be exempted from WCF if they use less than 25,000 litres per month. A domestic user will have to pay Rs 1 per 1,000 litres if he uses more than 25,000 litres a month and Rs 2 per 1,000 litres if he uses more than 50,000 litres a month.
Currently, charges are being collected for permitting drawal of groundwater for commercial purposes in OCS areas. The CGWA has been regulating it through the issue of advisories, public notices, and grant of ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOC). But, there is hardly any effective surveillance mechanism, leading to over-exploitation of groundwater in most part of the country.
India is the largest user of groundwater in the world, extracting to the tune of 253 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) per year, which is about 25% of the global groundwater extraction. The groundwater extraction in India is primarily for irrigation, accounting for nearly 228 BCM which amounts to 90% of the annual groundwater extraction in the country.
The remaining 10% of extraction (25 BCM) is for drinking and domestic as well as industrial uses. Industrial use is estimated to account for only about 5% of the annual groundwater extraction in the country.
Out of the total of 6,584 groundwater assessment units, 1034 have been categorized as ‘Over-Exploited’, 253 as ‘Critical’, 681 as ‘Semi-Critical’ and 4,520 as ‘Safe’. The remaining 96 assessment units have been classified as ‘Saline’ due to non-availability of fresh groundwater due to the salinity problem.
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