State to have groundwater regulatory authority soon

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25

The state is all set to have a groundwater regulatory authority to fix and regulate the water that can be drawn from the ground. The authority will also determine the water tariff and charges on a volumetric basis.

Once the authority is set up, all users will have to pay for using water, based on a more scientific calculation, rather than the flat charges. A distinction will be made in pricing and cross-subsidisation of water for drinking, irrigation, industrial and commercial purposes. This is the first big step being initiated by the Capt Amarinder Singh government to regulate the indiscriminate use of groundwater. It is the need of the hour, especially with the groundwater level dipping steadily.

A draft report of the Central Ground Water Board (North Western region), released recently, had pointed out that at the current rate of extraction, all available groundwater resources till the depth of 300 m in Punjab, would end in the next 20-25 years. Underground water recharging is 21.58 billion cubic metre, while the gross water withdrawal is 35.78 billion cubic metre in the state.

Official sources, involved in the formulation of the authority, have told The Tribune that it would have five members who would be experts in the field of water conservation. The draft for the authority has been presented to a Cabinet sub-committee headed by Local Bodies Minister Brahm Mohindra.

“The government will be seeking a political consensus on setting up the authority, and fixing tariff, at an all-party meeting to be convened in October. A special Assembly session for enacting the Groundwater Regulatory Authority Bill, will be held thereafter,” said Suresh Kumar, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Other than determining the tariff, the authority will be tasked with developing all utilisable water resources, including surface water, groundwater and waste water. It will also manage, conserve and augment the groundwater resources and technically treat the problem of waterlogging and salinity in the southern Malwa region. For this purpose, the government is proposing to include all stakeholders — beneficiaries, panchayati raj institutions, municipal bodies, NGOs, etc. The pollution control board will be tasked with looking after the quality of surface and groundwater, besides having powers to impose penalty on polluters.