Use Model Groundwater Bill As Guideline For State Laws

States like Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are considered the worst offenders, having withdrawn more water from the sub-surface than available for usage. The gap in demand and supply is continuously increasing, as there is no aquifer management system in place.

Groundwater extraction is largely unregulated. To strengthen the regulatory mechanisms, the central government has so far issued four versions of a Model Law to be adopted by state governments. 

To safeguard the groundwater regime and prevent overexploitation, a Model Groundwater (Control and Regulation) Bill, first drafted in 1970 by Government of India for the states, has been amended in 1992, 1996, 2005, 2011 and 2016. It establishes a framework to govern unabated groundwater exploitation and proposes state governments to form groundwater authorities to regulate groundwater development on the basis of common law, rules and legislation.

“After 2016, only 19 states made legislations around the Model Bill. Gujarat wasn’t one of them. Even though another Bill won’t crack the deal for us, the latest Model Bill did one very important thing, which was to bring into focus the uses of groundwater. Most of our groundwater use is for drinking water and irrigation, which requires stringent monitoring — not a strong suit for us until now. Say, we have one million withdrawal pumps in India. How can you monitor them? Not that it is not possible, but it is much easier to monitor canal networks,” says Alka, the director, People in Centre, Ahmedabad. 

A study conducted by researchers from Gujarat Law University found that though groundwater is scarce in Gujarat, approximately 77 per cent of irrigation depends on it. Hence, a feasible alternative needs to be found and utilised to increase the groundwater level, or the burden on groundwater reduced sharply. 

The report suggests that to maintain sustainability, a proper balance needs to be drawn between the usage of the resources and their development. This is possible only when there is an availability of alternative resources, modern techniques and stringent laws.

The Underlying Crisis

“Because groundwater remains largely under the private domain, it is hard to regulate it. Water is ‘one’. We have to look at every source of water as interconnected, as part of a cycle. Water is a state subject. National Water Policy, modified in 2012, proposed groundwater volumetric charges, but because the states have the final say, it couldn’t be passed," said Alka. 

In a paper on Model Groundwater Bill by a pioneer in groundwater policy, Philippe Cullet, lecturer at SOAS, London, notes that on a nationwide scale, limited legal interventions of Indian states in the groundwater sector can be explained by a number of factors. There are many reasons that underlie the unruly extraction and incessant loss of groundwater in the country.

Firstly, because landowners have enjoyed unlimited control over groundwater found under ‘their’ land, even if the state doesn’t recognise this ownership, it is understood thus by the people. The landowners simply see this as part of their property, and use it as they will. 

Secondly, groundwater use has become easy by mechanical pumping. Politicians and lawmakers are sensitive about bringing in any strict regulation with regards to the policy, fearing backlash. 

Thirdly, there is no statutory understanding and undertaking of protecting aquifers in the current legislation. Water laws are mostly about surface water. Further, even recent water laws fail to integrate environmental law principles. As a result, the limited protection measures that exist are environmental measures that are separate from water laws. 

“The absence of strict regulations concerning groundwater extraction in India, especially in Gujarat, has greatly contributed to the depletion of groundwater resources. This depletion has serious social, economic and environmental consequences,” Ashish Upadhyay, Associate Professor of Geography, Sabarmati University, told The Secretariat. 

Model Groundwater Bill

The Model Groundwater (Sustainable Management) Bill, 2017 integrates legal developments having taken place since the 1970s, recognises water as a fundamental right and a public trust. In doing so, it provides new bases for regulating groundwater as a public resource and to take measures at aquifer level, something that is crucial to address ongoing overexploitation and falling water tables.

The Bill aims at integrating surface and groundwater management, aquifer conservation, and developing a bottom-up regulation. It addresses issues such as the nexus between water management and food security, different regulations for different groundwater use and the right to water, health and environment of citizens. 

Yet, not all states have converted the Model Bill into state legislation. A study commissioned by Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS) in 2021 across 10 states noted that only Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and West Bengal have adopted the older version of the Bill. Even then, in most cases, the attempt is half-hearted.

However, experts believe the Bill must also move from command and control mode to participatory mode, to ensure full participation of the people. 

The unavailability of data and knowledge on aquifer systems is another big problem in developing better management plans for groundwater. The CGWB collects data from selected wells four times a year to monitor groundwater development. The CGWB has been attempting to map aquifers for all districts in the country. This data and mapping of aquifers would definitely improve our ability to manage groundwater better. 

Groundwater mining has largely been a silent crisis for many years. Authorities and groundwater users are privy to the fact that water tables are eroding due to overexploitation and injudicious usage. However, because declining groundwater level is less emotionally charged than dry riverbeds, an uneasy alliance has evolved over time, in which states have been ignoring the issue and allowing landowners to pump as much water as they want under the existing legal structure or by provision of energy subsidies.

As solutions, the RGICS report suggested an eight-fold plan, involving locally appropriate approaches for groundwater recharge, accounting for the diverse physiographic, climatic, topographic and geological conditions, understanding the prevailing policy framework and whistleblowing in the face of non-Implementation of laws and regulations, which balances demand with supply.

“Even if we implement legislation, without monitoring, the whole initiative might fall flat. We need something like Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), a water management technique that involves intentionally recharging aquifers with water, for later use or environmental benefit,” Alka said. 

(This story is Part 1 of a series. Part 2 will explain what policy intervention for groundwater is required in Gujarat)