Come Feb 1, pay for groundwater use

Chandigarh, January 28

The Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority (PWRDA) has notified the Punjab Groundwater Extraction and Conservation Directions, 2023.

Those Exempted

• The directions do not cover use of groundwater for agriculture, drinking and domestic purposes
• New directions also exempt water supply schemes, military establishments and local bodies, among others

An official press release today said the directions did not cover use of groundwater for agriculture, drinking and domestic purposes. New directions also exempt government water supply schemes, military and Central paramilitary establishments, urban local bodies, panchayati raj institutions, cantonment boards, improvement trusts, area development authorities and places of worship. Exemption has also been provided to all users who extract groundwater less than 300 cubic metres per month.

The groundwater charges will start from February

1, 2023.

The charges have been fixed to reflect the extent of groundwater stress in each block (three zones) of Punjab.