Eight years on, ground water bill still in limbo

LUCKNOW: The state ground water bill, which was mooted in 2005 following an advisory by the Centre, is yet to see the light of the day as various departments which were asked to submit a report have failed to do so as yet.

Alarmed at the fast depleting ground water, the union government had asked the state to draft a bill that could help them regulate the limited ground water resource and prevent misuse of water.

Even as the idea remained shelved, it was during the BSP government in 2010 that the ground water department went ahead with drafting its own UP Ground Water Conservation, Protection & Development (Management, Control and Regulation) Bill 2010.

However, the bill faced opposition by the industrial and business houses who lobbied to install it as it was intended to restrict their extraction of ground water for commercial purposes.

It also had special regulations for multi-storey buildings where heavy pumps are used to draw water.

Fresh efforts to introduce the pending ground water bill is also getting delayed because of non-cooperation by some of the government departments.

Commissioner agriculture development Alok Ranjan has recently forwarded a missive to different departments such as urban development, rural development, industrial development, panchayati raj, environment housing, town planning and education, to submit their reports so that the bill could be finalised soon.

When contacted, an urban development department official admitted of being lax on the issue. Now, with fresh orders seeking report urgently, he said the report would be prepared soon.

Noted environmentalist and former director of Geological Survey of India VK Joshi said, “Reliance on ground water has increased over the years and according to the figures of state ground water board, the ground water table is depleting fast so much so that the situation has become alarming in 60 out of 74 UP districts.”

Quoting reports, he said industries were fulfilling 90% of their water requirement through ground water extraction.

Around 68 % farmers are dependent on ground water resources for irrigation.

“With the state having more than 20,000 deep tube wells for water supply in major cities, more than 10,000 middle level tube wells and over 5 lakh shallow private tubewells and submersibles, it is high time we follow recharging rules or else be prepared to live in a desert,” said Joshi while insisting a strict law was needed for proper management of ground and rain water resources in the state.

“There is a need to differentiate between common, residential user, commercial users and farmers,” he said.

Presently, 90% of rainwater goes waste and experts feel that if this water is recharged, farming sector could get a major boost.