Efficacy of Groundwater as ‘Commons’: An Enquiry into the Implementation of Groundwater (Control and Regulation) Bill of 1992 in selected States in India
Loading...
Files
Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
"Though in India water has been perceived as a common pool resource (CPR) for
centuries, in the current scenario, water as ‘commons’ exists more in theory than in
reality. The case of groundwater is even more complex considering the present state of
the prescription under the Indian law where the ownership of land carries the ownership
of the groundwater under it. This has resulted in the excessive, indiscriminate use of
groundwater leading to over exploitation. The pressure on ground water resources has
increased many folds in the recent past with the shifts in the agricultural patterns, urban
growth and rising demands from various sectors of the economy. Central Ground Water
Board paints a gloomy picture of the status the groundwater resources across the
country with an increasing number of ‘critical’ and ‘over exploited’ blocks. This critical
state of ground water resources has led to the demand for groundwater regulation in
India. The Model Groundwater (Control and Regulation) Bill of 1992 was formulated and
circulated by the Central Government for the consideration of the states, and eventually
been adopted in many states across the country. This paper examines the effectiveness
of the Model Bill with the analysis of the provisions of the Bill in the various states in
India. The paper also addresses the larger debate on the issue of groundwater as commons."
Description
Keywords
groundwater, commons, regulation, overexploitation