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Sunday, March 3, 2013

PARCHED STATE Brazen groundwater extraction bleeds drought-affected state

Gangapur (Aurangabad): 

Maharashtra is one of the first states to have regulated its groundwater resources. However, two decades after it introduced a law banning sinking of private borewells or deeptube wells within 500 metres of a public drinking water source, brazen extraction of water continues, even in the 16 drought-hit districts of the state. 
    This is reflected in the fact that 195 of the state's 1,531 watersheds lie critically depleted, according to the state's Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency (GSDA). Seventy-three of these are 'overexploited'. 
    Experts believe unchecked groundwater extraction coupled with illegal sand mining (which ruins the water table) is as much to blame for the drought situation, as failed irrigation or deficient rainfall. Sustained abuse has triggered a drinking water scarcity that is more acute than witnessed during the 1972 drought. 
    TOIvisited scarcity-affected districts and found private borewells in farmers' backyards that were within stone's throw of public wells in blatant violation of the Maharashtra Groundwater (Regulation for Drinking Water Purposes) Act, 1993. Desperate to find even a drop of drinking water, villagers are till date boring into the ground. 
    Yusuf Pathan (48) of Limbe Jalgaon village, Gangapur, drilled a borewell outside his home in November, though the community well isn't too far away. "We managed to draw water till last fortnight, but the well has now run dry.
We lost Rs 28,000 in the process," said Pathan, adding that nearly every home in the village had a borewell. The reality is no different in Ahmednagar's Parner or Pathardi talukas, which are also 'scarcity-affected' after their groundwater table depleted three metres below average and received 50% deficient rainfall. 
    Monitoring of water-sucking borewells falls through the gaps. Admitting that they pose a challenge, Ahmednagar collector Sanjeev Kumar told TOI that he had issued orders banning private borewells from drawing water in dry talukas. 
He said they had also acquired 150 private wells for public use. But there is no check on whether such diktats are enforced, say locals. Both the talathi and block development officer of Pathardi, for instance, admit that they have no estimate of private borewells in factories or fields. 
    Action can be initiated only on complaint by the gram panchayat, but experts point out that borewells are usually 
the privilege of elite landlords and factory owners, whom villagers fear to take on. Not surprisingly, despite the visible presence of private wells, government data shows that merely 409 violations have been recorded under the Act till 2006, with only a single case where a well was permanently sealed in public interest. State authorities have initiated a new regulation—the Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2009, which awaits the governor's assent. 
    "Most of the over-exploitation of groundwater re
sources is in drought-prone regions, where all the sugar factories are located and grapes and oranges are grown," points out Suresh Khandale, additional director of GSDA. 
    Sachin Warghade, a water expert from TISS, says the government has failed to find any solution to the groundwater extraction, even in the wake of the drought. "The new law mandates that every borewell needs a licence. But if the existing provisions couldn't be enforced, how will the new ones be implemented?" he wonders. 

THE LAWS 
Maharashtra Groundwater (Regulation for Drinking 
Water Purposes) Act, 1993 
UPCOMING LEGISLATION I Maharashtra Groundwater Development & Managment Act, 2009 GUIDELINES Vs GROUND REALITY 
    No person shall sink any well within 500 m of a public drinking water source in the same watershed 
Private borewells are within stone's throw of public wells 
    If such a well is to be installed, a person shall do so only with permission of state authorities with consultation of GSDA officials 
GSDA officials and local authorities admit that private borewell owners rarely seek such permissions 
    In scarcity-hit areas, collectors can regulate extraction of water 
from any well within 1 km of a public drinking water source 
Despite rampant presence of borewells, only 409 violations recorded in the entire state under the Act from 1993 to 2006






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