The Hindu 23.12.2010
Water table shrinking, High Court bans use of borewells
GURGAON: The Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered a complete ban on borewells and has asked the administration not to give out permits for the same without consultation with the court. The order comes barely a week after officials of the public health department predicted that at the current rate of consumption, Gurgaon will run out of groundwater by 2040.
The court has also made possession of illegal borewells a criminal offence, and the violators will henceforth be booked under sections of the IPC.
Acknowledging that illegal extraction of groundwater using borewells has contributed heavily to the decline in the groundwater table, the administration is now bracing up for a comprehensive drive against illegal borewells in Gurgoan.
It has constituted six teams, which will carry out regular surveys of the city and will also be responsible for rounding up offenders.
Deputy Commissioner R K Kataria said that after the court's orders, he is no longer authorized to give out permissions for borewells, and that people who use and possess illegitimate borewells will be booked under sections of the IPC and not the environment court as was the case earlier.
"We have already arrested three people in the last two days near Palam Vihar," said Kataria.
In 2008, the DC, along with a committee comprising officials of HUDA, DTCP, HSIIDC and MCG, were given the charge of issuing permits for borewells.
"Only borewells required for drinking water purposes were allowed. But now the court has put a stay on that," said Kataria.
He said that while earlier illegal borewells were merely impounded and no action was taken against owners, from now on the violators will be booked under Section 188 of the IPC.
Kataria added that the drive has been intensified now, and that more arrests will soon follow.
"If we get any reports of illegal extraction of groundwater, we will act promptly. I have also spoken to the commissioner of police about this, and asked him to convey the matter to his SHOs," said Kataria.
The new teams put together by the DC comprise officials from all branches the HSIIDC, MCG, DTCP, HUDA and the pollution control board and the hydrologist of the ground water cell in Gurgaon has been made the nodal officer.
"The teams will take stock of the number of borewells in different areas and will act accordingly," said Kataria. Currently more than 1,000 applications asking for bore-well permits are pending with the administration.
The pollution control board of Gurgaon had registered three FIRs on Tuesday, which led to the arrests. Regional officer of the HSPCB, Pradeep Yadav, said that they are awaiting more such cases to come to light so that the offenders could be brought to book.
"The builders and colonizers should make sure that no illegal borewells are used in their areas. Apart from that, it is also necessary that water supply is made more efficient in the industrial and also the commercial areas of the city so that local residents do not depend too heavily on extracting water from underground," said Yadav.
The move, say experts, will help check the fast-receding level of the regions groundwater table.
The court has also made possession of illegal borewells a criminal offence, and the violators will henceforth be booked under sections of the IPC.
Acknowledging that illegal extraction of groundwater using borewells has contributed heavily to the decline in the groundwater table, the administration is now bracing up for a comprehensive drive against illegal borewells in Gurgoan.
It has constituted six teams, which will carry out regular surveys of the city and will also be responsible for rounding up offenders.
Deputy Commissioner R K Kataria said that after the court's orders, he is no longer authorized to give out permissions for borewells, and that people who use and possess illegitimate borewells will be booked under sections of the IPC and not the environment court as was the case earlier.
"We have already arrested three people in the last two days near Palam Vihar," said Kataria.
In 2008, the DC, along with a committee comprising officials of HUDA, DTCP, HSIIDC and MCG, were given the charge of issuing permits for borewells.
"Only borewells required for drinking water purposes were allowed. But now the court has put a stay on that," said Kataria.
He said that while earlier illegal borewells were merely impounded and no action was taken against owners, from now on the violators will be booked under Section 188 of the IPC.
Kataria added that the drive has been intensified now, and that more arrests will soon follow.
"If we get any reports of illegal extraction of groundwater, we will act promptly. I have also spoken to the commissioner of police about this, and asked him to convey the matter to his SHOs," said Kataria.
The new teams put together by the DC comprise officials from all branches the HSIIDC, MCG, DTCP, HUDA and the pollution control board and the hydrologist of the ground water cell in Gurgaon has been made the nodal officer.
"The teams will take stock of the number of borewells in different areas and will act accordingly," said Kataria. Currently more than 1,000 applications asking for bore-well permits are pending with the administration.
The pollution control board of Gurgaon had registered three FIRs on Tuesday, which led to the arrests. Regional officer of the HSPCB, Pradeep Yadav, said that they are awaiting more such cases to come to light so that the offenders could be brought to book.
"The builders and colonizers should make sure that no illegal borewells are used in their areas. Apart from that, it is also necessary that water supply is made more efficient in the industrial and also the commercial areas of the city so that local residents do not depend too heavily on extracting water from underground," said Yadav.
The move, say experts, will help check the fast-receding level of the regions groundwater table.
