A four-member panel posted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has recommended stopping the groundwater exploitation in Delhi to provide treated water to sewage treatment plants for cultivation.
In the report filed before the NGT bench, the panel has said that the Delhi government should consider sending this water to the fields through the network of canals of the irrigation department. Also, the panel headed by retired Justice SP Garg has recommended that the agriculture sector be brought under the purview of groundwater use.
The NGT panel said land-owning agencies in the capital should also focus on optimum utilization of treated sewer water for reclamation of water bodies. According to the panel, providing treated water for agriculture will also help in the use of additional treated sewer water with the Delhi Jal Board.
The panel said, treated water is an important resource that has been ignored for a long time. To reduce the pressure on available drinking water, it is necessary to try to increase the use of treated water. Let us know that there are 20 sewer treatment plants in the capital, which treat about 500 million gallons of sewer water daily. Out of this, only 95 MGD of water is being used.
Groundwater reaches 64 meters in the national capital
According to a study by the National Geophysical Research Institute, the groundwater level in the national capital is going down at an alarming rate of 10 centimeters every year. According to the Central Ground Water Board, groundwater in some parts of Delhi is found about 1.2 meters below the surface. Most of these areas are close to the Yamuna floodplain. But groundwater in the rest of Delhi has reached a depth of 64 meters.
It also has recommendations
The government has put piezometers in many places for proper assessment of groundwater recharge.
The government should provide financial assistance for the installation of a rainwater harvesting system.
The existing water bodies should be geo-tagged to keep them encroachment-free.
The identity of each water body should be fixed as a unique ID.
The land-owning agencies created Enforcement Wing to implement the directives of NGT etc.
Wing officials should have the authority to prosecute those who break the rules.