Ground water regulation, a late realisation

World Water Day: 9.77 lakh borewells in the State

But what lies ahead is a challenging job of regulating the existing borewells and preventing them from further exploitation.

An official from the Mines and Geology Department said the regulation had come at a time when the resources were exhausted.

“Nevertheless, the existing wells can be protected. According to the department’s latest study, 68 per cent of Bangalore’s groundwater has been exploited.”

Following the Bill, a committee comprising government agencies will be constituted shortly to frame groundwater rules and implement them.

H M Khyum Ali, Additional Director, Groundwater, the Mines and Geology Department, said there was absolutely no rule till date that said a resident can sink a borewell without any official consent.

“There are nearly 9,77,702 borewells in Karnataka meant for irrigation, and nearly 2,51,797 borewells meant for drinking water purposes. Besides this, Bangalore City alone has two lakh-odd borewells (both government and private) which had no monitoring authority,” he said.

He said once the rules were framed, the authority would be empowered to ensure all existing borewells and borewell agencies (diggers) are compulsorily registered.

Sinking of a new borewell would require permission, especially in the areas the Mines and Geology Department has notified for depletion in the groundwater table.

The ground reality of Bangalore’s groundwater table has a huge disparity in terms of levels as analysed by the Mines and Geology Department recently.