“Delhi Jal Board does not even know which agency maintains such a record”
Groundwater is extracted with impunity is the general refrain, but the agencies concerned — the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) or the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) — cannot quantify just how much of the natural resource is lost on an everyday basis or for what purposes.
This, even as policies and programmes to check rampant misuse of groundwater have been implemented.
Vinod Jain of the non-government organisation Tapas said the DJB and the CGWA keep no tabs on the quantity of groundwater extracted or the percentage used for commercial and domestic purposes. Mr. Jain had sought information under the Right to Information Act from the agencies about the quantum of groundwater used up by individuals, industry and societies.
“Through the RTI, we learnt that none of the agencies have any record of how much water is being used up. The standard reply I received was that ‘no data on withdrawal of water/depletion of groundwater table is being maintained.' The DJB even said they did not know which agency maintained such a record,” said Mr. Jain.
In Delhi where the commercial use of groundwater has been banned, seven of the nine districts are ‘overexploited' vis-à-vis the resource.
“We had asked the agencies if they had any data on how much withdrawal of groundwater is carried out everyday and on an average by individuals, for what purposes — drinking, bottling, by farm houses or fire tenders etc., The idea was to ascertain whether such data can be put to use by helping plan for the future,” said Mr. Jain.
He went on to add: “The data could have been used to get an exact demand of the groundwater. It could have helped the agencies plan accordingly for ensuring water security.”
Groundwater contributes to the city's demand not met by the DJB's piped water supply. It is also being used for various non-potable purposes, including construction and agricultural.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment