Groundwater is the prominent source of water for all the main uses of water in Uttar Pradesh. It is now the backbone of drinking water security and agriculture. Groundwater accounts for about 80 percent of drinking water needs and around 60 percent of irrigation water use. Groundwater remains the primary and only source of drinking water for most rural households; it forms an important complement to municipal water supply in many towns and cities. Today, the tremendous increase in the use of groundwater has had significant impacts on availability of and access to water. This is the situation where groundwater is available in vast quantities, like in the Indo-Gangetic plain and even in much drier areas like Bundelkhand.

The groundwater regulatory regime in UP has, to a very large extent, been on principles inherited from the colonial period. These are both dated and inappropriate. They are dated because they were developed at a time when groundwater was overall a marginal source of water and when humans were not able to significantly affect the level of the groundwater table through their use. They are inappropriate because the basic nexus between access to groundwater and land ownership on which these rules are based leads to outcomes that are socially inequitable and environmentally unsustainable. Common law rules introduced in colonial times do not provide an appropriate basis to address the current challenges faced in the groundwater sector.

GROUNDWATER ACT, 2019

The Groundwater Act states many reasons as to why it is important to preserve groundwater and to prevent and mitigate the effects of polluting ground water. The Act says that uncontrolled and rapid extraction of ground water has resulted in alarming situation of declining ground water levels and depletion of ground water reservoirs in many parts of the state, both in rural and urban areas. Groundwater is the most important source of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, and is also the backbone of drinking water, food and livelihood security in rural and urban areas. Hence, the Act states that it is extremely necessary to conserve, protect and develop groundwater resources for the purpose of recharge or augmentation of groundwater in stressed areas and to prevent ground water pollution by maintaining or restoring wholesomeness of ground water quality. A serious groundwater crisis is prevailing in the state due to excessive overdraft and ground water contamination. Development of ground, its management, control and regulation specially in over-exploited and critical areas is the need of the hour for its protection and preservation. The Act also goes on to state that ground water in its natural state is a common pool resource and the Supreme Court of India has applied the public trust doctrine to ground water, in recognition that private property rights in ground water are inappropriate. The Rules for the Groundwater Act was released on February 25^th 2020.

IMPORTANT PROVISIONS OF THE ACT

The Statement of Objects and Reasons given in the Act is as follows: –“Ground Water is the single most important source of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. It is the backbone of drinking water, food and livelihood in rural and urban areas. It has been brought to the notice of State Government that uncontrolled and rapid extraction of ground water has resulted in alarming situation of declining ground water levels and depletion of ground water reservoirs in several areas of the state. In order to deal with the situation of serious ground water crisis and ground water contamination in the state, it has been decided to make a law to provide for protecting, conserving, controlling and regulating ground water to ensure its sustainable management, both quantitatively and qualitatively, especially in stressed rural and urban areas. This Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Bill, 2019 is introduced accordingly.”

• Section 3 of the Act states that a Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee will be constituted at all Gram Panchayats. These sub-committees will act as the lowest public unit in rural areas within a block to protect and manage ground water resources.
• Section 4 states that a Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee will be constituted which shall be a public unit at block level for overall management of ground water, and also explains its composition. The functions of the Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee shall be o prepare an overall Block Level Ground Water Security Plan by consolidating Gram Panchayat Ground Water Security Plans.
• Sections 5 and 6 give the composition and functions of Municipal Water Management Committee and District Ground Water Management Council respectively.
• Section 7 deals with constitution of the e Uttar Pradesh State Ground Water Management and Regulatory Authority and its functions.
• Section 8 discusses the duties of groundwater department. The Ground Water Department shall develop a mechanism
  • To co-ordinate with the appropriate body
  • To work as Technical Secretariat for the State Ground Water Management and Regulatory Authority.
  • To identify and delineate the areas, such as over-exploited and critical blocks, for the purpose of regulating ground water.
  • To collect all ground water information/data
• Section 9 states that the State Ground Water Management and Regulatory Authority has the powers to notify areas for management and regulation of ground water resources and advise the government on appropriate water conservation methods where water level has depleted to such an extent. These areas will be considered as notified areas.
• Section 10 makes registration of existing commercial, industrial, infrastructural and bulk users of ground water in notified areas, mandatory by applying to the respective District Ground Water for a grant of certificate of registration.
• Section 11 makes provision for registration of all existing wells, commercial, industrial, infrastructural and bulk users of ground water in non-notified areas by applying for a grant of certificate of registration.
• Section 12 bans new well construction in notified areas, and extraction, sale and supply of ground water in notified areas is punishable under Chapter VIII of the Act.
• Section 13 states that to ensure protection of notified areas and sustainability of ground water resources, Ground Water Security Plans shall be prepared for systematic implementation.
• Section 14 states that for commercial use in non-notified areas shall apply for a NOC
• Section 15 grants the right to SGWMRA to fix the limit of abstraction of groundwater for any use.
• Section 16 mandates everyone who extracts ground water to pay the prescribed fee in both the areas and section 17 makes it mandatory for the drilling agencies involved in extraction of ground water to register with DGWMC.
• Section 20 bars the claim of any damages or compensation from the government or any authority for any loss sustained by virtue of any action taken under this Act.
• Section 23 states that all employees of SGWMRA and other authorities are public servants and section 24 protects them against action in good faith.
• Under Chapter V, section 25 states that the authorities concerned should identify and demarcate areas which are. And section 26 states that SGWMRA should ensure that no ground water resources are polluted. Section 27 prohibits use of well for dumping polluting matters etc. (it is punishable to do so, according to section 39) and section 28 bans recharge from open areas into the aquifers. Section 29 prohibits pollution of ponds, rivers, etc.
• Chapter VI deals with rainwater harvesting, self-regulation, groundwater discharge, recycling and reuse, prevention of waterlogging. Section 30 mandates farmers in notified areas to adopt self-regulation of groundwater measures. Section 31 mandates that appropriate authorities shall sensitize farmers and people in notified areas to adopt suitable designs and technology for rain water harvesting, ground water recharge and catchment conservation etc. Section 32 mandates that authorities encourage recycling and reuse of water and section 33 mandates them to encourage the prevention and mitigation of waterlogging.
• Section 34 and section 35 of the Act deal with impact assessment of both social and environment aspects of such activities to be implemented in the area of their jurisdiction. Section 36 mandates transparency of the authorities, section 37 says authorities shall proactively disclose information, and section 38 says information of impact assessment have to be kept in public domain.
• Section 43 and 44 mandate formation of the ground water grievance authority, their duties, jurisdiction and powers.
• Under Chapter IX, section 39 provides for offences and penalties in case of not complying with the order and regulations of the SGWMRA. In case of any violation, users will be penalized with fines ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh and/or imprisonment ranging from six months to a year, for a first offence. However, agricultural and general residential users do not come under the ambit of penalty clauses. A second offence would entail an imprisonment of two to five years, along with a penalty of ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh. A provision [s39(2)(b)] for imprisonment of five to seven years along with penalty of ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh has been made for those caught polluting/exploiting groundwater a third time.
• Section 40 mandates that the same if done by a company would also amount to the same offence and shall be held guilty.
• Section 41 states that first-time offences can be compounded by the appropriate authorities in the prescribed manner, only after imposing fifty per cent of minimum fine prescribed for the offence as compounding fee along with the minimum prescribed fine.
• Section 42 makes the offences under this Act cognizable and triable by a judicial magistrate of first class.
• Chapter X gives the authorities miscellaneous powers. Section 45 gives the authorities of the aforementioned boards to seek information from any other government department or any other person. Section 46 gives the authorities to remove any wells dug in contravention to the provisions of the Act or seal off the well.
• Section 48 mandates that the government create a Ground Water Fund which shall be utilized for Ground Water Management activities such as conservation of ground water, both through demand side and supply side management for encouraging demand side interventions and for increasing efficiency of ground water usage by effective monitoring devices. Section 49 gives the government powers to frame rules to implement the Act.
• Under section 51, the state government can exempt any user from complying with the provisions of the Act.

CONCLUSION

The Groundwater Act was enacted by the Uttar Pradesh state government to provide for protecting, conserving, controlling and regulating ground water to ensure its sustainable management, both quantitatively and qualitatively, in stressed rural and urban areas. The Uttar Pradesh Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019 establishes the much-lost link between land ownership and access to groundwater, a precondition for ensuring that groundwater law contributes to the realization of the fundamental right to water. Further, they add a layer of governmental control by giving panchayats control over local sources of water. Hence, it is safe to conclude that the Act is a major positive step towards improving groundwater resources and mitigating groundwater pollution.