Government Of Tamil Nadu To Give Its Stand On Draft Groundwater Bill

A bench of Justice B Pugalendhi of the Madras High Court was hearing petitions from private entities involved in the drinking water business in the state against a 2014 Government order pertaining to NOC issuance, regulations and compliances for the groundwater extraction in the state. The companies claimed that their fundamental rights have been violated because of this order.

The Tamil Nadu Groundwater( development and Management) Act of 2003 was already repealed in 2013. But, no new laws have been formulated in the state in the last decade. The depletion of surface water also reduces the groundwater level and in the absence of any Law, there is rampant exploitation of groundwater.

The Counsel for the state informed the court that a high level committee and a technical committee was formulated for the very reason in 2019 and a draft bill has been submitted for approval in January, 2020. The Court sought the response of the State Government with regards to the new law for extraction of groundwater and also suggested that the guidelines issued by the Union Government through the notification dated the 24 September 2020 could be used as an interim guidelines to regulate the policies regarding the groundwater extraction. Hence the Court schedule the 26 April 2023 as the next date of hearing in this matter