Conserving groundwater

Rules must contain wasteful use in agriculture

The new rules notified by the government for regulating the extraction of groundwater disallow industrial, mining, and large housing projects in areas where this natural resource is in a precarious state due to indiscriminate use. The existing units, too, would need to get fresh no-objection certificates and pay on the basis of the amount of water withdrawal rather than just a nominal lump sum amount. But, for no reasons other than the likely political gains, several categories of large users have been exempt from these regulations, thus putting a question mark on the outcome of this exercise. These users, including