‘ Illegal borewells depleting groundwater’
New Delhi, May 21: Groundwater, which is Delhi’s major resource in times of crisis, is depleting rapidly and it is a matter of concern for the Delhi government.
The principal secretary ( revenue) Dhrampal on Wednesday said that main cause of the depleting groundwater level is the existence of illegal borewells all over Delhi.
All the deputy commis- sioner’s through their SDMs and other field staff have been directed to carry out regular inspections to identify the illegal borewells existing in their area.
In many area, respective DCs have carried out sealing drives wherever illegal borewells were detected.
The revenue department recently issued a notification making registration mandatory for all drilling machinery operators and tube well operators in the national capital with the Delhi Jal Board ( DJB).
The government has also issued a notification, for voluntary disclosure of tube wells and bore wells within three months by the owners.
In 1983, fresh groundwater was available at a depth of 10m or 33ft ( 1m equals 3.3ft).
By 2011, it dropped to 40m or about 132 ft, with the period between 2002 and 2011 registering the most precipitous drop of 8.75m or nearly 29 ft.
Data compiled by the Central Groundwater Board of the ministry of water resources shows there is no let- up.
The groundwater table in just about the whole of Delhi — spread over 1,484 square km — has declined between 2m and 20m.
The worst hit areas include most of South Delhi and parts of South West Delhi covering over 264 square km where the water table has dropped by as much as 10m to 20m over the last 10 years.
Dhrampal also informed that as per the directions, all the DCs have been carrying out regular inspection of the drains under their jurisdiction.