There is need for change of present ground water law ? why
Answers
Answer:
hlo mate ,
Explanation:
yes , there is the need for change of present ground water law because the level of water decrease day by day . to save water and to rise the water level we need to change the water law ...
Please mark as brainljst and also follow me ........
Answer:
hi
fine mark as brainleast and also don't forget to follow me
Explanation:
Groundwater is an increasingly important source of freshwater in India, with around 60% of irrigated agriculture and more than 80% of drinking water needs dependent upon groundwater.1 The exponential increase in groundwater extraction over the past few decades has led to deterioration in water quality and quantity.
These developments expose the need for a legal framework to regulate the use of groundwater and to protect aquifers. This is particularly relevant because groundwater use in India is currently regulated in a piecemeal or rudimentary manner. The lack of adequate regulation has been one of the important factors that has facilitated indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater.2,3
The existing legal regime relating to groundwater in India has been subject to severe criticism. One major criticism is the continuation of the rule introduced during the British colonial period that gives near absolute right to land-owners to exploit groundwater. This has severe consequences for equity because it excludes landless people from accessing groundwater. Other criticisms include little or no emphasis on protection and conservation, lack of recognition of the link between groundwater and the water cycle, and lack of an aquifer-based regulatory approach (as opposed to a system focused on individual extraction units.
To address these issues, since 1970 the federal government has been pushing the states to adopt a new groundwater law by publishing ‘model’ groundwater laws, with the latest version published in 2016. However, the federal government can only encourage the state governments because the Constitution of India vests state governments with the power to adopt laws regarding the management of water.
The existing regulatory framework in India ensures neither equity nor the sustainability of groundwater use. Therefore, reforms in groundwater laws require an entirely new set of principles, approaches, and institutional mechanisms. This article discusses some key changes that could address concerns related to equity, human rights, and sustainability.
Abolition of the groundwater-land nexus
From a legal perspective, groundwater is regarded as a part of land. Therefore, landowners have been given an unrestricted right to extract groundwater. This rule, originating in Britain in the 19th century, has been recognised by the Indian legal system through statutes4 and judicial decisions5. It is dated and inadequate for addressing contemporary concerns, and it is likely to be discarded in light of new legal developments. The system of land-based groundwater rights was developed at a time when groundwater was not a major source of freshwater and the technology was not developed enough to facilitate the unsustainable extraction of groundwater. As such, groundwater was not a serious concern.
Two specific developments, among others, make it likely that this rule based on common law will be untenable. First, given the fact that an overwhelming majority of drinking water today comes from groundwater, the deterioration of groundwater will have implications for the realisation of the fundamental right to water, which is part of the fundamental right to life enshrined in the Constitution. Second, the Public Trust doctrine (PTD) is one of the major principles governing water resources in India. The existing system of land-based groundwater right is directly in conflict with PTD because PTD requires access to crucial natural resources like water to be available to everyone equitably regardless of any socio-economic criteria.
Towards aquifer-based regulation and conservation
One of the major shortcomings of the current groundwater legal regime in India is the absence of a regulatory framework that identifies aquifers as the management unit.6 An aquifer-based regulatory system would have the advantage of introducing a governance framework based on hydrological units (e.g., equivalent to a basin-wide regulatory system for a river basin). It would prioritise the protection of aquifers by acknowledging the link between aquifers and their recharge as well as discharge areas. It would also provide an opportunity to consider groundwater as a part of the water cycle.
Unfortunately, the existing legal regime continues to be determined by administrative boundaries and focuses on regulation of groundwater use through a permit/license system for installing groundwater extraction units, such as wells and tube-wells. Thus, the existing legal regime appears to be treating groundwater as a bucket with inflow and outflow of water independent of recharge area,