The new guidelines of Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), a national groundwater regulatory agency, that came into effect on Monday have dealt a blow to soft drink majors- Coke and Pepsi.
The latest guidelines could put an end to the excessive and destructive groundwater usage by groundwater guzzling industries.
Under the new guidelines, all industries that use groundwater and do not have approval from the national groundwater regulatory agency, will have to take no objection certificate (NOC) from the CGWA for groundwater withdrawal “with immediate effect”.
The new guidelines also have a separate category for “water intensive industries” that include more stringent regulations on groundwater usage by industries such as soft drinks, bottled water, breweries, distilleries, paper and pulp, fertilisers and others, and prohibit extraction of groundwater by such industries in over-exploited areas.
The stricter regulations for water intensive industries are the result of various community-led campaigns across India against companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico which have highlighted the unsustainable usage of groundwater in water- deficient areas and sought restrictions.
The India Resource Center, which has campaigned to hold beverage companies accountable for excessive and unsustainable groundwater usage, has hailed the new CGWA notification. Earlier, the India Resource Center had succeeded in blocking Coca-Cola’s bottling plant in Mehdiganj, Varanasi in August 2014.
“The new guidelines are a significant step forward but a lot depends on whether the CGWA will apply the guidelines in letter and spirit for existing industries in water stressed areas, particularly over-exploited areas”, said Amit Srivastava of the IRC.