The Groundwater Crisis

India has the 2nd largest population with 1.3 billion people, making about 17.7% of the total world population. With the incline in the population of our country the crisis related to basic resources also increased.

One of the major resource crises that India had faced in its past was the Groundwater Crisis. Groundwater was and still is an important resource because of its use in irrigation and many other purposes. But due to negligence, it was overexploited leading to a rapid fall in the water table. Thereby a need arose to consider its importance and find a way to replenish it.

Regulations in the 19th Century

The first regulation for the conservation and replenishment of the groundwater table came in the 19th century. Under this regulation, the judges decided to give the landowners full rights of the water that was found under their land.

This regulation led to major problems as the landowners started considering groundwater as their property and did not consider the need to protect it as well as replenish it thereby further deteriorating the condition of the water table.

Groundwater was also started to be considered as a symbol of power as well as economic gain. With the rise in the use of mechanical pumps, landowners started selling water to people considering a public resource to be their private property.

Modification in the 1970s

The regulations that were imposed in the 19th century failed due to the overuse and overexploitation of this natural resource. Further modifications were thereby considered to protect the groundwater table.

In the regulations imposed in the 1970s, some of the control over the groundwater was transferred to the state government.

Even after the imposition of this bill, all the rights of the landowners over the groundwater were not lost. This bill was only imposed in some of the states.

The other two major disadvantages of the bill were that firstly it did not address the most important problem of the falling water table and also did not consider its conservation at aquifer level.

The Groundwater Bill, 2017- A new Paradigm for Groundwater Conservation

The groundwater bill that was proposed in the year 2017 was for the regulation and removal of the outdated and environmentally unfriendly measures of groundwater conservation. This regulation considered water to be a public resource.

It also considered the importance of conservation of water at the aquifer level to maintain the optimal level of the groundwater table. Certain precautionary principles for the conservation of water were also added to this bill.

The major disadvantage that it faces is that it is not implemented properly and thereby its regulatory control still lies in the hands of local users.

Water being the most important natural resource needs to be conserved and regulated appropriately. Proper laws should thereby be implemented effectively so that we can fulfill the needs of every person and also leave a sustainable amount for our future generations.