Legislation to regulate, prevent rampant ground water extraction need to come into effect

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: At a time when there are reports about fast depletion of ground-water level in Assam particularly in the State’s capital city, Dispur is virtually sitting over legislation that aims to regulate and prevent rampant extraction of water from the earth by installing deep tubewells and boring wells.

Way back in 2012, the State Government had brought the Assam Ground Water Control and Regulation Act. As per the Act, the government was supposed to constitute the Assam State Ground Water Authority to control and streamline the extraction of groundwater across the State. But what has raised eyebrows of everyone in the ground reality that the government is yet to frame rules to enforce the Act thus giving a free hand to real estate builders and others to go for rampant extraction of groundwater. The Irrigation department entrusted with the job of enforcing the Act has failed to frame rules due to reasons best known to babus and ministers who ran the department in the last eight years.

Lack of coordination and support among the other departments concerned is also another reason for the failure of the Irrigation department to enforce the Assam Ground Water Control and Regulation Act, 2012. The Irrigation Department had sought views from departments such as the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, the Directorate of Geology & Mining, the Public Health Engineering, the Central Ground Water Board, the Urban Development Department and the Agriculture department regarding enforcement of the Act. But the exercise stuck in seeking views only.

The entire development has made the Assam Ground Water Control and Regulation Act, 2012 gather dust in Dispur.

The Guwahati Building Construction (Regulation) Act, 2010 (notified on February 20, 2014, by Guwahati Development Department) stipulates that if any restrictions/regulations are imposed by the Assam State Ground Water Authority under the Assam Ground Water Control and Regulation Act, 2012, the applicant will have to abide by such regulations and seek separate permission for groundwater extraction. It also says that once the 24X7 water supply projects of Guwahati are operational, an authority may refuse extraction of groundwater in the city.

“Almost 99 percent of normal tubewells and wells dug in the past in my locality have now dried up due to the installation of very deep tubewells by builders to extract groundwater for their apartments. I cannot afford to install tubewell due to the high-cost factor. Many old residents of my locality are now faced with an acute water crisis. We are forced to purchase water from private suppliers,” Arup Das of Lachit Nagar area in the city said.

Das added that similar is the situation in many other parts of the city. “It is high time to regulate and prevent rampant extraction of groundwater in the city. Otherwise, there will be a time when the entire groundwater storage will dry up. In many cities in the country there have been initiatives to recharge groundwater,” he said.

But regulating and preventing rampant extraction of groundwater in a fast-growing city like Guwahati and other parts of the State have become no one’s business. Under such circumstances, a major water crisis looms large over the city and the departments concerned seem to be in a deep slumber.

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