Decision on borewells may be revised : CGWA

New Delhi : Central Ground Water Authority's (CGWA) recent notification to permit boring for tubewells in the south and south-west districts has raised quite a storm, prompting officials to take a second look at the notification. Apart from residents and environmentalists, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) too has strong reservations about the new rules and intend to lodge a protest.
"We have read the notification and intend taking up the matter with CGWA. The concerned areas are very important for us as DJB itself has a lot of borewells here. The new rule will have a direct implication for us as our borewells will dry up," said Ramesh Negi, CEO, DJB.
Officials alleged they were not informed of the decision when it was taken and only heard of it from newspaper reports. "The entire matter has been conducted in a strange way. Neither was it discussed with concerned agencies, nor was the matter of transferring of the power of authorization for constructing of tubewells to the deputy commissioners done legally," Jyoti Sharma, president of Forum for Organised Resource, Conservation and Enhancement.
However, CGWA officials turned the heat around on the water utility, saying had it provided sufficient water to residents in these zones , there would not have been any need for borewells at all. " Ground water in these zones got depleted as residents did not have access to any other water. Had DJB been doing its job, such a situation would not have arisen, " said a CGWA official. According to sources, CGWA has been mulling over amending thenew notification since the past few days. Due to several loophoples, the notification stood a great chance of being misinterpreted, a fact officials fist vehemently defended and then said would reconsider.
" Illegal boring was taking place rampantly in these zones after money exchanged hands between the boring parties and the concerned authorities. CGWA's aim was to ensure the least those who genuinely needed to have tubewells as they werent getting the DJB supply would not be harrassed by those asking for bribe. The process would have become transparent. The particular point in the notice that asks interested parties only to 'intimate' the concerned authorities about the borking will be looked into to ensure they require authorisation for the same, " said an official.
Meanwhile, NGOs and RWAs are planning to take a representation to the authorities to clear the issue. Residents of DLF in Gurgaon,another area affected by the new notification, intend asking HUDA to intervene in the matter. CGWA is expected to send a reply very soon