State looks to curb indiscriminate extraction with Groundwater Act

Kolkata: The state Water Resource Investigation & Development (WRID) department will soon come out with Groundwater Act for putting a leash on indiscriminate extraction of groundwater, which is depleting by leaps and bounds.

"We cannot deny the fact that groundwater level is reducing and we feel that it is high time to take measures to prevent indiscriminate extraction of groundwater. We are in the process of preparing a scientific database, classifying all the 341 blocks in the state into three categories- critical, semi critical and safe and accordingly prepare a roadmap for scientific use of groundwater in near future. Groundwater extraction for drinking will be given top priority," a senior official of the department said.

It may be mentioned that groundwater is used for drinking, agriculture and by the industry and there are a number of agencies that are responsible for its extraction. Apart from designating blocks based upon the three parameters, the department will also come out with a direction for the agencies about how much water extraction will be allowed for agriculture or industry purposes.

"If we feel that drawing groundwater for agriculture or for industry at a particular block needs to be stopped, we will do the needful," the official maintained.

According to the official, the exercise of assessment of extraction of groundwater and recharging of water at a particular block, has been undertaken by State Water Investigation Directorate (SWID)- an independent directorate under the state WRID department, jointly with the Central Groundwater Board.

The work will be based on water table data available from the hydrographic stations across the state, as on March 2017. The methodology that will be followed for the assessment, will be based on the guidelines framed by Groundwater Estimation Committee (GEC) in 2015, which is a standard pattern that should be followed across the country for assessing groundwater level.

The assessment work has started a month ago and the target set for completion is October this year. The department is also laying emphasis on setting up more hydrographic stations in the state as they ensure accuracy of data. At present, there are 2,500 hydrographic stations in the state and the department is planning to have one such station at every Gram Panchayat in the state.

The earlier study that was done around five years ago, had identified only one area -Goghat I in Hooghly as critical, 70 as semi-critical and the rest as safe.

The department is hopeful that a notification in this regard will be brought out within the calendar year and will be circulated among all stakeholders to regulate the use of groundwater.