No objection certificate mandatory for industries using ground water
Updated: Aug 20, 2013 02:22:26pm
New Delhi, Aug 20 (KNN) Industries using ground water as one of their raw materials will now need to obtain a no objection certificate from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) before withdrawal.
“CGWA has advised all the State Pollution Control Boards to set up monitoring mechanism to verify actual requirement and withdrawal of ground water including implementation of artificial recharge measures. CGWA has also requested Bureau of Indian Standards to advise all concerned industries using ground water as their raw material to obtain “No Objection Certificate (NOC)” for ground water withdrawal from CGWA, which is mandatory,” said Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.
The move comes in the wake of steady wastage of groundwater by water packaging companies.
CGWA that comes under the purview of the Ministry of Water Resources has therefore fixed norms for withdrawal of ground water by industries using ground water as raw material including packaged water companies.
As per the 2009 water resource assessment, in the category of area that is considered safe withdrawal is limited to 200 per cent of ground water recharge. In semi-critical areas, withdrawal is limited to 100 per cent of ground water recharge. However, in areas that are considered critical withdrawal is limited to 50 per cent of ground water recharge and in over-exploited and notified areas, permission is not granted.
CGWA accords NOC to the firms for withdrawal of ground water, wherein industries are required to report about the source and number of ground water abstraction structures while applying for ‘NOC. Submission of compliance report of conditions imposed in NOC is mandatory.
As per the ground water resource estimates of 2009, out of the 5842 assessment units (Blocks, Mandals, Talukas, districts), 802 over-exploited units, 169 critical units, 523 semi-critical units, 4277 safe units and 71 saline units have been identified across the country by Central Ground Water Board.
The Annual replenishable ground water resources have been estimated as 431 Billion Cubic Metres (bcm). The Net Ground Water Availability is 396 bcm and the overall stage of ground water development of the country is 61 per cent. (KNN/ES)
“CGWA has advised all the State Pollution Control Boards to set up monitoring mechanism to verify actual requirement and withdrawal of ground water including implementation of artificial recharge measures. CGWA has also requested Bureau of Indian Standards to advise all concerned industries using ground water as their raw material to obtain “No Objection Certificate (NOC)” for ground water withdrawal from CGWA, which is mandatory,” said Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.
The move comes in the wake of steady wastage of groundwater by water packaging companies.
CGWA that comes under the purview of the Ministry of Water Resources has therefore fixed norms for withdrawal of ground water by industries using ground water as raw material including packaged water companies.
As per the 2009 water resource assessment, in the category of area that is considered safe withdrawal is limited to 200 per cent of ground water recharge. In semi-critical areas, withdrawal is limited to 100 per cent of ground water recharge. However, in areas that are considered critical withdrawal is limited to 50 per cent of ground water recharge and in over-exploited and notified areas, permission is not granted.
CGWA accords NOC to the firms for withdrawal of ground water, wherein industries are required to report about the source and number of ground water abstraction structures while applying for ‘NOC. Submission of compliance report of conditions imposed in NOC is mandatory.
As per the ground water resource estimates of 2009, out of the 5842 assessment units (Blocks, Mandals, Talukas, districts), 802 over-exploited units, 169 critical units, 523 semi-critical units, 4277 safe units and 71 saline units have been identified across the country by Central Ground Water Board.
The Annual replenishable ground water resources have been estimated as 431 Billion Cubic Metres (bcm). The Net Ground Water Availability is 396 bcm and the overall stage of ground water development of the country is 61 per cent. (KNN/ES)
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