Karnataka: Siddaramaiah cabinet gives nod to bill against abandoning borewells without sealing

In April, 14-month-old Satwik fell into a borewell near his home in Lachyan village, Vijayapura district in Karnataka. He was rescued after a gruelling 20-hour operation. A new amendment bill approved by the Siddaramaiah cabinet on Thursday might prove to be a deterrent for those abandoning borewells that don’t yield water. 

The state cabinet has given its nod to the Karnataka Groundwater (Regulation and Control of Development Management) Amendment Bill, 2024 mooted by the minor irrigation and groundwater development department, which mandates one year imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 10,000 for any agency or landowner, who does not secure a defunct borewell or abandons any borewell that fails to yield water on drilling, without capping it as per the safety norms. 

Law minister H.K. Patil said that the bill was under consideration since a child had fallen into an open borewell pit in Bagalkot. 

“As per the new amendment, a landowner who digs the borewell and the agency that carries out the drilling work, both will be made liable for punishment if they fail to close the borewell before abandoning it for whatever reason. The violators will be sent to jail for one year and we will impose a penalty of Rs 10,000 too,” said Patil adding that the department officials granting permission for borewells were not made liable. 

Many cases of children losing their lives after getting trapped in abandoned or defunct borewells continue to be reported from across the country. The amendment passed by the Karnataka government will set a precedent for addressing the menace better by fixing the responsibility. 

Overexploitation of groundwater has led to its depletion. However, droughts, evading rainfall, mindless development and excess construction activities are increasing our dependence on groundwater. The new law will be effective if it is implemented across the board – for both government, private and commercial borewells and those used for domestic, commercial and irrigation purposes. 

In Karnataka alone, there are about 14 lakh authorised borewells (as per the All India Borewell Census 2019 conducted by the Central Groundwater Board), while the exact number of unauthorised borewells is not known. 

“If a borewell is dug up without permission and is found to be in violation of the safety norms, the offender is likely to attract a penalty of Rs 5,000 and three months in jail,” said Patil, addressing the issue of unauthorised borewells that spring every summer.