Transparency in groundwater use

The launching of the “Bhu Neer” portal by the ministry of Jal Shakti for improved groundwater regulations is aimed at bringing transparency to groundwater withdrawal permits across the country. It has also been designed to ensure compliance with a set of norms for the sustainability of groundwater use. The alignment of the initiative with the government’s policy of ease of doing business will ensure a faceless permit regime allowing industrial and business applicants to keep track of their application status. Putting in place a strong mechanism of oversight of compliance of the norms by the states will be critical to prevent the water table in cities like Guwahati from depleting to a critical stage. Findings of the Central Ground Water Board revealed that groundwater level in Guwahati has already reached a semi-critical stage due to rampant extraction. The rampant extraction of groundwater for household, industrial, and construction use is attributed to the delay in execution of the Guwahati water supply project of providing water sourced from the Brahmaputra River to city households after treatment. Scores of private water tankers supplying water to large sections of city households not covered by a partially commissioned water supply project speak volumes about rampant groundwater extraction in the city. Concrete surfacing of building compounds, more particularly of the multi-storeyed residential and commercial buildings, prevents replenishment of groundwater sources with rainwater. Instead, entire rainwater received in these building compounds is drained to the streets or the city’s drainage network. This has been going on in violation of the building construction codes issued by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority. Building bylaws make it mandatory for all types of buildings other than commercial and residential apartment buildings to take effective measures for conservation of rainwater, harvesting, and recharging and connecting all rainwater outlets and wastewater outlets to the roadside drain only through a percolation pit constructed inside the premise. For commercial, residential apartments, public, semi-public, and other institutional buildings, in addition to percolation pits, 10-15% of paved areas must be covered by grass. Besides, it is mandatory for all types of buildings to remove topsoil of open ground to replace it with river sand to allow slow percolation of rainwater while rooftop water may be collected and discharged directly to a well after filtration using pipes with size specified in the building codes. Ironically, these rules are gathering dust with no visible attempt by the authorities to enforce those. This has allowed the majority of building owners and occupants to ignore recharging of groundwater sources even while extracting copious quantities of water every day with deep borewells drilled inside the premises, pushing the city’s water table towards a critical stage. In areas where borewells have become dry, groundwater extracted illegally by private tankers is the only alternative to getting supplies of water through payment of a high price. A blanket ban on groundwater extraction in the city is not possible, as lakhs of households depend on groundwater for drinking and other daily household needs. The pragmatic approach is to make people realize the importance of groundwater recharging and economical use of water. This requires a combination of awareness drive and enforcement of building codes. The Bhu Neer portal, “Bhu-Neer,” is designed to provide comprehensive details regarding the legal framework governing groundwater extraction and regulations at the state and national levels. Its centralized database will allow users to access critical information on groundwater compliance, policies, and sustainable practices, states an official release. The portal has been developed with several user-friendly features to offer a streamlined process flow to the project proponents seeking groundwater withdrawal permits, it adds. If more emphasis is laid on the expeditious issuance of groundwater permits for ease of doing business, then it runs the risk of eclipsing the conservation of groundwater. Transparency about the use of extracted groundwater and compliance with conservation norms is equally important and needs to be dovetailed to the Bhu Neer portal. This will ensure public scrutiny of compliance with the permit norms and facilitate intervention of the authorities if any discrepancies or irregularities are observed. Instead of a reactive response to norm violation, proactive measures to ensure compliance with groundwater extraction and conservation norms right from the issuance of permits will produce better results. While permit issuance needs to be faster, hassle-free, and free from bureaucratic red tape for applicants, the onus also lies on the authorities that compliance guidance issued to the applicant is strictly implemented. This requires strengthening of the inspection and monitoring mechanism of the city authorities delegated the power to regulate groundwater use. It is high time that an effective mechanism be put in place in Guwahati for the sustainable use of groundwater before the situation further deteriorates. The most viable alternative to prevent such a situation is the expeditious commissioning of all water supply projects in the capital city. The issue needs urgent attention from the state government for bridging all gaps in the execution of water supply projects.