Saifuddin Soz

NEW DELHI: Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz has appealed to State Governments to enact legislation for checking over-exploitation of ground water.

In a letter written to Chief Ministers and Administrators of Union Territories, the Minister expressed concern at the indiscriminate use of ground water in parts of the country. "A Model Bill [for Regulation of Ground Water] was also circulated to all States/UTs in 1970, which was revised in 1992 and 1996. The Model Bill was reviewed in 2005 to include provisions relating to regulation, development and augmentation of ground water resources," he said.

The Bill calls for the regulation and control of the development and management of ground water. It is also considered a tool for regulating over-extraction of ground water through registration and levy of user charges.

Mr. Soz reminded the Chief Ministers that the Centre had sent several communications to them in the matter. "You would appreciate that dependence on ground water as a source for meeting requirements of water for various uses has been increasing in the country resulting in declining levels. Checking this is in the interest of all concerned."

Advisory council

He said the Ministry had recently constituted an Artificial Recharge of Ground Water Advisory Council with the approval of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The objective of the Council was to popularise the concept of artificial recharge of ground water among all stakeholders.

Prominent citizens drawn from various fields like agriculture, industry, banking, financial institutions, concerned Ministries and State Governments are members of the Council.

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