Nod for groundwater extraction: Camp held to clear doubts

Ludhiana: After the industrialists recently claimed to have been facing problems in getting permissions from Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority (PWRDA) for extraction of groundwater, the department on Friday organised a camp to clear their doubts. A total of 50 factories got registered on the first day of the camp organised at the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU), while around 100 units inquired about the process.CICU president Upkar Singh Ahuja said, “Industrialists have been facing difficulties in getting registered with the PWRDA due to confusion regarding the documentation and charges.”“We had approached PWRDA chairperson Karan Avtar Singh, following which he instructed the officials to set up a training-cum-registration camp,” he said.Ahuja also said, “Many senior officials from PWRDA were present on the first day and 50 companies got registered. Besides, over 100 companies confirmed that they will get registered in the next few days.”He added that the camp also aimed to provide services to the MSME at a nominal price, without any mediator.During the camp, executive engineer Maninder Singh and SDO Sandeep Singh, along with others from PWRDA, spoke about the documentation required for getting an NOC for ground water extraction. Officials said that the process of getting NOC is very transparent and easy and they have categorised areas in Punjab into green, yellow and orange.CICU general secretary Honey Sethi and organising secretary J S Bhogal said that such camps will be organised in the coming days as well. tnn