13 States, UTs Enact Law to Regulate Ground Water: RS

NEW DELHI: Thirteen States and Union Territories have implemented a model bill to regulate and control development and management of ground water, the Rajya Sabha was told today.

In a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Santosh Kumar Gangwar said, the Ministry of Water Resources has circulated a Model Bill to all the States and Union Territories for regulating and control development and management of ground water.

"13 States and UTs namely, Andhra Pradesh (undivided), Goa, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Puducherry, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Jammu-Kashmir, Karnataka, Assam and Dadra-Nagar Haveli have enacted the legislation on the lines of the Model Bill," he said.

In Maharashtra, the state Legislature has passed the Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act 2009, he added.

He also stated that Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has prepared a Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Ground Water in India during the year 2013, which envisages construction of different types of Artificial Recharge and Rainwater Harvesting structures in the Country.

As per the latest assessment (2011) of CGWB carried out in association with respective State Ground Water Departments, 1071 blocks, Mandals and Talukas are Over-Exploited, 217 are Critical and 697 are Semi-Critical, he stated.

The over-exploited blocks are in the States of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh (undivided), Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi, he added.