Bill to regulate Karnataka borewells still remains a paper tiger

It’s a classic case of pious intention undone by lack of political will. The Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Bill 2011 was passed by the state legislature on March 16.

There is, however, little chance that the new act will make any difference to groundwater levels, as the government is in no hurry to implement the rules.

The government appears to be in no mood to notify the bill. Sources in the department of law and parliamentary affairs told DNA that copies of the bill have yet to be received from the state legislature, and any notification of the bill can only happen once copies are received.

“As of now, the bill is still on paper. No rules under it will be enacted,” said a senior official in the law and parliamentary affairs department.

Sources said that the delay in the implementation of the bill is because the government is itself busy digging borewells to meet the water requirements of the state. They indicated that the bill is unlikely to make any difference on the ground this summer.

It may be noted that once the bill is enacted and its rules are implemented, anyone desirous of digging a borewell in the notified area would, of necessity, have to apply to the authority for a permit.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), for instance, has spent more than Rs100 crore to drill 2,800 borewells in the areas newly added to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). What is noteworthy is that only about 40% of these borewells are functional.

In a bid to control the indiscriminate use of ground water, the bill provides for the constitution of the Karnataka Ground Water Authority, which would be headed by the secretary of the state water resources department.