Hotels, industrial units get notices for using groundwater without permit

Meerut: After a survey revealed around 135 hotels, several industrial units and many other users are drawing ground water in bulk without permission from the government, the district groundwater council issued notices to them, asking them to apply for no objection certificates for the water they are using. If they fail to do it, a heavy file will be imposed, officials said. Ground water department executive engineer Aditya Pandey said, “With the help of Central Ground Water Department, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Lucknow and district administration, Meerut, a survey was conducted to identify the hotels and industrial units using groundwater without permission from the ground water department. The survey revealed that over 135 hotels, and many others, including some industrial units, are extracting groundwater in bulk.”Based on the survey’s findings, a detailed report was sent to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Thereafter, the NGT ordered the ground water department to take appropriate action against those extracting groundwater without proper permission from the groundwater department, said Pandey. He added that the users can apply for the NOC through the Nivesh Mitra portal. They will be fined if they fail to do it within a month. “These bulk users will also be apprised of the rules and regulations of extracting groundwater,” Pandey said. Nauratan Kamal, assistant geophysicist at the department of groundwater, said that around 35 hotel owners have applied for the NOC in the last few days.