The state government has made it mandatory for land owners who drill borewells on their premises to file a joint declaration along with the drilling agency that the borewell has been safely covered with steel plates.
In cases where the borewell fails or is abandoned halfway, the land owner and the drilling agency will have to declare that all safety norms have been taken to seal the borewell, including completely filling up the drilled hole with soil/mud.
These measures are part of detailed guidelines issued by the Water Resources Department last week to prevent children from falling into open or abandoned borewells.
The Supreme Court in February 2010 directed all state governments to take steps to prevent such accidents.
The land owner and the drilling agency will be held responsible for any faulty maintenance of the borewell, according to the guidelines.
Many state governments, including Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have already issued the guidelines. The Karnataka government notified the guidelines only on December 31 last.
The declaration will have to be submitted to the village accountant of the gram panchayat in the rural areas. People in the urban areas should submit the declaration to the jurisdictional engineer of the local municipality. The declaration has to be submitted on the day of completion of the borewell.
Several children have fallen into abandoned borewells in the country. Many of them could not be rescued.
According to the guidelines, the land owner has to inform the authorities concerned, like the local civic body or the village panchayat, at least 15 days in advance before starting work on the borewell.
These guidelines are in addition to the approval of a competent authority, like the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, for extracting groundwater.
According to the guidelines, all borewells should be capped properly by welding a steel plate. The deputy commissioner will have to verify whether the guidelines are followed.
Local authorities will have to maintain a register on the borewells drilled, repaired or abandoned in the jurisdiction and periodically inform the member-secretary of the district ground water committee and the deputy commissioner.