The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi government to explain its scheme on voluntary disclosure of borewells in Paharganj.
November 2024 – The National Green Tribunal has sought clarification from the Delhi government on its stand on the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme which has been accused of permitting hotels to run borewells in the Paharganj area. This comes when 536 hotels have been accused of illegally drawing groundwater. The order has come at a time when the authorities had failed to present concrete details or documents about the scheme which had raised suspicion of irregularity in the implementation of the scheme.
The NGT had raised its concern over the lack of transparency in the VDS and how hotels in the Paharganj area were operating borewells without any clear regulatory oversight. The authorities informed the tribunal that the hotels and guest houses in the area had disclosed their borewell operations under the VDS but the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, CGWA, or the Delhi Jal Board could not provide official records or policy documents about the scheme.
In its earlier hearings, the tribunal had said that the policy, which allowed operationalizing of borewells under VDS, finds no trace in the minds of any government agency. NGT observed that as much as there is an officially stated policy, the concessional authorities have been providing all sorts of concessions based on this unverifiable disclosure system. Now it has questioned the legitimate concessions being provided through scam of unauthorized operation of borewells.
For example, it’s a very serious case in Delhi such that while there may be water scarcity there are areas around Paharganj too where some hotels and guest houses with borewells draw groundwater illegally. Alarm has risen among environmentalists and local authority alike since it can rightly be said that, left uncontrolled would lead to a depletion of available resources aggravating a city’s shortage in water.
Recent Order by National Green Tribunal
On the 22nd of November, NGT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava put a question mark on the voluntariness of the disclosure scheme. The tribunal found that the Delhi government had put on record that the VDS was conceptualized by a committee in a meeting. However, the Delhi government could not produce an official document or explain clearly how the scheme was developed, who approved it, and under whose authority it was being implemented.
The NGT has, therefore, directed the Delhi government to file an affidavit mentioning VDS and details of who authorized the scheme, who had issued orders for implementing the same, and exactly how it was implemented. In case VDS is there, the concerned orders and other documents along with it should be filed by the Delhi government to serve the competent authority that sanctioned VDS.
The tribunal order has also pointed that this should be done totally transparent in this regard because otherwise, in the absence of official documents, there is this question of illegal activities with which groundwater extraction in Paharganj might go. The tribunal has given deadline to the Delhi government on which it has to file affidavit, which must include details with regard to VDS, and the steps taken for repressing illegal borewell.
Addressing Illegal Borewells
The NGT has further directed the Delhi Jal Board to take necessary steps against illegal borewells. The list, which the DJB presented mentioned that some hotels in Paharganj are operating without permission. The Delhi government has agreed to seal those borewells within the next 10 days following the directive issued by the tribunal.
They also assured to respond better in the future by sealing all the illegal borewells within a week of receiving a complaint from the DJB.
Apart from sealing the illegal borewells, the tribunal has also asked the authorized officer to file an affidavit disclosing the no. of borewells sealed, communications received from the DJB and timeline for this sealing exercise. The tribunal ordered that action be taken forthwith as the purpose was to abide by the rules governing groundwater and ensure non-extraction of groundwater otherwise.
Delhi Jal Board has been directed to continue to monitor the situation and all the illegal borewells shall be identified and sealed as ordered by the tribunal. Further, it clarified that it would also take legal steps if its order is not complied with.
Groundwater depletion is a growing concern. This illegal extraction of groundwater in Delhi has always raised a red flag with local residents and environmentalists in Paharganj. In the long run, such an over-extraction by hotels and other establishments causes grave environmental damage, such as drastic lowering of the water table. Another potential risk is contamination of this unregulated use of borewells since no body is monitoring the standards of water quality for these unauthorized sources of water.
This issue of NGT intervention concerns the rising need for regulating the usage of groundwater in Delhi, a matter already critical on water scarcity. More areas in the city are facing a water shortage situation and thus require government authorities and businesses to ensure that there is proper use of the resources in an environmentally friendly manner and legally.
Conclusion: After all, it was a significant move of the National Green Tribunal that had just ordered the Delhi government regarding the extraction of groundwater, which many hotels in Paharganj are guilty of. Of course, this order, or the reasons it is couched with, reflect some apprehension which the tribunal harbours for its lack of transparency of the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme that is on. That such moves might eventually give the government an upper hand after being placed on the back foot in view of their lack of decisive steps taken against illegal borewells and a lot of hullabaloo made on schemes would be interesting. The tribunal will observe this closely and authorities must act rapidly in terms of regulating the use of groundwater and forcing business establishments to comply with law to conserve this resource.