NGT forms expert panel to tackle groundwater depletion

New Delhi: National Green Tribunal has formed a high-level expert committee to address India’s worsening groundwater depletion crisis, flagging serious lapses in enforcement and widespread over-extraction across states and Union territories.The bench of chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and its expert members, A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad, noted that several regions, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic basin and north-west India, including Delhi, are already under severe stress. The tribunal relied on extensive data compiled by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), which highlighted systemic failures in regulation and monitoring.NGT was hearing a matter suo motu based on a report warning of critically low groundwater levels by 2025.The data revealed largescale over-exploitation of groundwater, weak enforcement of extraction norms and poor implementation of environmental compensation mechanisms, meant to penalise illegal drawing of water.In many states, thousands of illegal borewells were identified, yet penalties and corrective measures remain inconsistent.The tribunal observed that despite guidelines by the ministry of jal shakti in 2020, compliance on the ground has been inadequate. Several states have either failed to effectively regulate groundwater extraction or have not imposed environmental compensation for violations. “Much action is warranted” by states and their authorities to curb illegal extraction and ensure groundwater recharge.The tribunal has now formed an expert committee that will be the nodal agency in tackling “effective compliance of the guidelines and to remediate the problem of over-extraction of groundwater in different areas, and to ensure its rejuvenation.” The committee will have representatives from National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Geological Survey of India (GSI), ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), experts from IIT, Roorkee, and representative of CGWA, the order, dated April 23, said. The order was shared in the public domain on Monday.The committee has also been tasked with suggesting strategies for groundwater recharge in critically affected areas and provide both general and state-specific policy recommendations.The panel has been directed to submit its report within three months. The matter will be heard again on Aug 25 when the tribunal will review the committee’s findings and consider further directions.