BANGALORE: As a drinking water crisis looms large in 128 drought-hit taluks in the State, the Government has decided to constitute a Karnataka Groundwater Authority to control and regulate the exploitation of groundwater.

The Government will enact a law to establish the Authority and make it mandatory for all owners of open wells and borewells to register themselves with the body. Under the proposed law, no person, household or firm will be allowed to use groundwater without the permission of the Authority. Similarly, all people have to obtain permission from the Authority to dig a well or drill a borewell, a senior official in the Mines and Geology Department told The Hindu .

The State Cabinet on May 14 cleared the Karnataka Groundwater (Regulation and Control) Bill, 2007. Once the law is passed by the legislature, the Authority will be established.

The Authority, to be headed by the Secretary, Minor Irrigation Department, will be empowered to cut power supply and acquire an open well or a borewell if the owner fails to register himself. The law will also make it mandatory for borewell drilling agencies to register with the body. The statutory body will be given powers to confiscate the machinery of agencies if they refuse to abide by the rules. Any violation by any person or agency will lead to imprisonment of six months and a penalty of Rs. 5,000, the official said.

Watersheds

According to a survey conducted by the Mines and Geology Department, there are 234 watersheds in the State. Of these, 80 watersheds, including those in Bangalore, have been categorised as overexploited with 85 per cent of groundwater utilisation. Ten watersheds fall under the critical category with exploitation of groundwater more than 65 per cent, and 17 watersheds fall in the semi-critical category with utilisation less than 65 per cent. In 1999, there were 20 overexploited, 16 critical and 48 semi-critical watersheds in the State. The Authority will identify and notify overexploited areas within six months of its formation. A large number of watersheds in Bangalore Rural and Urban, Bijapur, Belgaum, Bidar, Bagalkot, Raichur, Tumkur, Kolar and Chitradurga districts are overexploited. Compared with Malnad and coastal Karnataka, the people of the plateau region use more groundwater. Thousands of borewells have dried up because of excessive use of groundwater, the official said.

Water harvesting

The proposed law will also make it mandatory for all existing buildings — residential and commercial — in urban and rural areas to install water-harvesting structures. "The law will also fix responsibility on the Government to undertake programmes for recharging groundwater," the official said.

Maharashtra, Punjab, New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa and West Bengal have already enacted such legislation.

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