This story is from July 15, 2020

Digging deep: 75% of illegal borewells in two districts

Having already overexploited the ground water resources in six of its districts, water-deficient Delhi is now doing the same to its semi-critical districts.
Digging deep: 75% of illegal borewells in two districts
Representative image
NEW DELHI: Having already overexploited the ground water resources in six of its districts, water-deficient Delhi is now doing the same to its semi-critical districts. A Delhi Jal Board report on identified illegal ground water extraction shows that North West and South West districts together account for 75% of the 19,661 illegal bore-wells uncovered by inspectors. Rohini and Kanjhawala in North West district are top of the list with over 8,299 illegal water points, followed by South West district (6,681) and West district (2,185).
1

In its 2019 report, the Central Ground Water Board declared both NW and SW districts to be in the semi-critical category with groundwater withdrawal far exceeding recharging by rains.
Officials said that in parts of Delhi, illegal borewells bridge the 300 million gallons per day demand-supply gap. “We continuously crack down on the tanker mafia,” a DJB official remarked. “Most illegal withdrawal of water is seen in outer Delhi districts.”
A new standard operating procedure has been devised to deal with illegal borewells on the orders of National Green Tribunal. While the forecast for Delhi running out of ground water in 2020 hasn't proved true, the city is still overexploiting its precious underground water resource. In a welcome step, DJB has sealed 7,248 of the 19,661 illegal points. “We will close the remaining 12,413 illegal units in two months,” the DJB official assured. Of these 12,413, the two worrisome districts account for 10,104.
The capital’s grim water situation can be gauged from the fact that 90% of its expanse is categorised as semi-critical or critical in terms of subsoil water. Last year, CGWB told the Supreme Court that the water table in various parts of Delhi had been decreasing 0.5-2 metres every year and warned of a pending crisis. New Delhi, South, South East, East, North East and Shahdara are critical districts. CGWB’s report, based on groundwater data from 2000 onwards, said water levels at all its 20 monitoring stations in Delhi had been in steady decline, the direst recorded in Chhatarpur and Dwarka.
The report said groundwater was accessible at a depth of 0-5 metres in 27% of Delhi in 2000, but in 17 years since, the figure had shrunk to a mere 11%. CGWB also pointed out that in almost 15% of the capital, groundwater now lay at a depth of 40-80 metres. Save for a few pockets in West and Central Delhi, CGWB placed almost all of the capital in the semi-critical or critical zones.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA