Every drop counts

New groundwater-extraction guidelines are inadequate

The new water-extraction guidelines, notified by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to take effect from June 1, are unlikely to help check wasteful and injudicious use of rapidly vanishing groundwater because of several loopholes. For one, they do not make any effort to ensure efficient and need-based utilisation of water for irrigation, which corners nearly 90 per cent of the extracted groundwater. The domestic sector, which accounts for another 5 per cent of it, has also been exempted from any restrictions. That leaves only 5 per cent groundwater that is accessed by the industrial sector to be regulated for