Punjab and Haryana High Court issues notice on PIL challenging guidelines on groundwater extraction

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Punjab government on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging guidelines issued in January 2023 on the extraction and conservation of groundwater in Punjab. [Dhruv Chawla vs Punjab Water Regulations and Development Authority and Ors].A bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerjee issued notice and listed the matter for hearing next on March 14..Lawyer Dhruv Chawla filed the petition challenging the effectiveness of the Punjab Groundwater Extraction and Conservation Directions of 2023, stating they fail to conserve water and violate the Punjab Water Resources Management and Regulation Act..Chawla raised concern that Punjab is already slated to face a groundwater crisis given that a 2020 block-wise groundwater assessment by the Central Groundwater Authority found that most districts in Punjab have over-exploited their groundwater resources."If the present depletion continues, Punjab's groundwater is expected to drop below 300 meters by 2039 as per Central Ground Water Board," the plea added.Chawla asserted that the final guidelines exclude provisions for water-saving schemes in agriculture, instead burdening industries with hefty extraction charges without promoting water conservation..Notably, the Punjab Water Regulation & Development Authority (PWRDA) had initially issued draft guidelines in 2020. After considering public objections, it issued the final guidelines earlier this year, which have now been challenged by Chawla.His plea highlighted that the draft guidelines initially included provisions on water saving schemes to be implemented in agriculture, which were ultimately excluded from the final guidelines, instead burdening industries with hefty extraction charges without promoting water conservation.Chawla emphasized agriculture as the primary contributor to groundwater depletion, which the guidelines inadequately address. Accordingly, he has urged the Court to either withdraw or amend the guidelines to effectively tackle groundwater depletion, incorporating provisions for water conservation in agriculture and to conduct a comprehensive study on the issue..Senior Advocate Sanjeev Sharma and advocate Vikram Vir Sharda appeared for PWRDA.The Punjab government was represented by Additional Advocate General Sourav Verma..[Read Order]