New Function Plan for recharge of ground-water in Delhi, NCR

Concerned over the depletion of ground-water in Delhi and NCR, the Centre has approved a new Function Plan to recharge the natural resource in the area. Ministry of Urban Development's NCR Planning Board has approved the new Function Plan, which will review the status of ground-water in and around Delhi and will come out with an action plan to increase the level of water table.

Sources said that the locations, where the respective state governments can recharge the ground-water, have already been identified and incentives are being worked out for recharging it in the danger zones.  The issue came up at a recent meeting of the NCR Planning Board in which Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, her Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda and ministers from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh participated.

The Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) has already warned against overdrawing of ground-water in most parts of the capital and districts like Gurgaon, Rewari, Sonepat and Faridabad in Haryana and Ghaziabad and Meerut in UP. Officials said the Centre would push for Bills to be formulated by respective state governments for conservation of ground-water which would also include penal provisions if the guidelines are violated.

Similarly, rainwater harvesting, which is already mandatory in some areas with large buildings, will be given special focus and incentives could be given to those who voluntarily go for it in the NCR.