Tag: Contamination

Groundwater in India: Judiciary Failing to Resolve Governance Crisis in 2025?
Groundwater

Groundwater in India: Judiciary Failing to Resolve Governance Crisis in 2025?

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(Feature Image: Illustration on deepening groundwater levels in India by Binay, Source: IWP)

This overview tracks the major judicial interventions concerning groundwater conservation and management in India during 2025, highlighting persistent failure to address the gaps in governance. The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) have been criticized for no real action, inadequate data, weak transparency and poor enforcement. The inefficiency of state-level groundwater authorities reflects a deeper systemic failure.

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Urban Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Judicial Interventions
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Urban Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Judicial Interventions

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(Feature Image: Underconstruction overhead water tank along Bindal river in Dehradun. B. S. Rawat/SANDRP/May 2024)

This annual overview includes the top ten reports from 2024 on judicial interventions regarding groundwater in urban India. The overview shows that the judicial bodies, particularly the NGT, have been dealing with various cases concerning the violations of groundwater extraction norms, including permission, use of treated sewage and rainwater harvesting by residential projects, and groundwater pollution by landfill sites and industrial waste across the country.

The overview of the court proceedings broadly suggest that the concerned governing bodies have been showing casual approach when it comes to ensuring the compliance to norms and improve governance, thus failing to stop the depletion & contamination of GW in Urban India.

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Urban Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Government Actions
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Urban Groundwater 2024: Top Ten Government Actions

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(Feature Image: A tubewell installed under JJM scheme along dried up Tons river bank in Sahaspur, Dehradun. B. S. Rawat/SANDRP/May 2024)

This annual overview covers relevant media reports from ten cities, highlighting the groundwater management and recharge efforts made by the governments during 2024. The earlier overviews on the subject of Groundwater in India have focused on important studies done in 2024, general scenario on groundwater contamination & depletion, relevant government actions, significant judicial intervention and groundwater issues in urban India.

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Groundwater 2024: Top ten Actions by Governments
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Groundwater 2024: Top ten Actions by Governments

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(Feature Image: A water conservation message painted on a wall in Dehradun. BS Rawat/SANDRP, May 2024)

The fourth part of annual overview covers the top ten actions taken by central and various state governments regarding conservation and recharge of groundwater India in 2024. The 1st part of the yearend round documents important studies and the 2nd part and 3rd part highlights reports on the proverbial toxic-berg, rising contamination and depletion of groundwater quality in India. The fifth part covers top ten judicial interventions dealing with groundwater issues during 2024.

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Groundwater 2024: Increasing Contamination: Tip of a Toxic-berg?
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Groundwater 2024: Increasing Contamination: Tip of a Toxic-berg?

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(Feature Image: Drain No 6 in Kundli, Sonipat filled with industrial effluents. BS Rawat/ SANDRP/ May 2023)

This annual overview compiles the top ten reports showing the rising contamination of groundwater resources in India during 2024. It includes some shocking facts from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Telangana, Kerala, Ladakh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and W Bengal, in addition to reports from CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) a Parliamentary Committee. The contaminants reported in groundwater include nitrates, fluorides, arsenic, uranium, heavy metals (Chromium, cadmium, nickel, manganese, selenium, among others), Iron, salinity, among others. Since most people consume groundwater assuming it to be safe, what is reported here is only a tip of the proverbial toxic-berg. The easiest way forward, besides more regular monitoring and improved governance is rainwater harvesting on war footing. However, the government, busy pushing more big dams and interlinking projects, has little real priority for that.

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