India CGWA issues the guideline for bulk water suppliers

Around early March 2021, India’s Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) issued the guideline for bulk water suppliers who withdraw groundwater. This guideline provides details for bulk water suppliers to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for groundwater pumping as stipulated in the “Guidelines to regulate and control groundwater extraction in India” published by the Notification (S.O. 3289(E)) dated September 24, 2020. Therefore, suppliers who extract large volumes of groundwater by private water tankers must obtain NOCs.

Documents to be submitted with the application:

• Proof of ownership of land of size 200 sq m or more on which abstraction structure is installed
• Proof of ownership/Lease of tanker
• Groundwater quality report

General Conditions:

• All tankers shall be labeled “Potable Water”.
• Abstraction structures shall be fitted with tamper proof digital water flow meter with telemetry. Flow meters shall be calibrated once in a year from an authorized agency.
• Water shall be used for drinking/domestic purpose only.
• Water quality being supplied by the bulk water supplier shall be adhered to BIS norms for drinking and domestic purpose.
• Filling of tanker shall be done only within the premises.
• The amount of groundwater abstraction and charges per day shall be limited as follows

• No Objection Certificate shall be issued with a validity term of 2 years for all the assessment units.

In case of abstraction of groundwater for commercial purposes without obtaining a valid NOC from the competent authority is considered as illegal and such entities are liable to pay environmental compensation stipulated in Section 15 of the ”Guidelines to regulate and control groundwater extraction in India”.

The guideline can be downloaded from the following URL (in English)

http://cgwa-noc.gov.in/LandingPage/Guidlines/BulkwatersupplyGuidelines_approved.pdf#ZOOM=100