Model Bill for Conservation, Protection and Regulation of Groundwater
Q. Which of the following is/are true regarding Model Bill for Conservation, Protection and Regulation of Groundwater?
1) The lowest level of authority for groundwater management is District Groundwater Council.
2) Industrial use of groundwater will be charged.- Published on 19 Aug 16a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWER: Only 2
- For the institutional framework, the Act sees the setting up of a groundwater sub-committee under the village water and sanitation committee by the Gram Panchayat. This will be supervised by a Block Panchayat, which will consolidate the groundwater security plans of all Gram Panchayats in its ambit.
- In urban areas, the Model Bill envisages the setting up of ward groundwater committees which will plan, approve and facilitate the implementation of Ward Groundwater Security Plan. This will be overseen by a Municipal Water Management Committee.
- On top of these layers will be a District Groundwater Council and State Groundwater Advisory Council to appropriately integrate and take decisions at their scale.
- For industrial users there are several checks and includes the recommendation to charge for groundwater use, the money so collected being invested for the sustainability of the resource.
