Introduction
Central Ground Water Authority is constituted by the government of India under the Environmental (Protection) act 1986. It is established to regulate and control the development and management of groundwater resources in the country.
Power of Authority:
a. Exercise of powers under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for issuing directions and taking such measures in respect of all the matters referred to in sub-section(2) of section 3 of the said Act.
b. To resort to penal provisions contained in sections 15 to 21 of the said Act.
c. To regulate and control, management and development of groundwater in the country and to issue necessary regulatory directions for the purpose.
d. Exercise of powers under section 4 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for the appointment of officers.
In the exercise of its powers, the Authority controls the production of groundwater by means of various means including the grant of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for groundwater abstraction and the issuance of notifications, instructions, and when necessary.
The Central Ground Water Authority has developed guidelines for NOC granting groundwater extraction, which has been updated from time to time. In the last position in 2015, the Guidelines were revised to put existing industries/infrastructure/mining projects within the scope of the NOC in compliance with the Hon'ble NGT Vide Order of 15 April 2015 in the matter of Krishan Kant Singh Vs. M/s Deoria Paper Ltd., Hata Road, Narainpur, Deoria, and other connected matters.
Exempted category
The following categories of users shall be exempted from obtaining NOC for groundwater abstraction:
a. All users drawing/ proposing to draw groundwater through non- energized means (bucket & rope, hand pump, mhote etc.)
b. Individual households drawing/ proposing to draw groundwater from a single dug well/bore well/ tube well through the delivery pipe of up to 1" diameter iii. Agricultural users
c. Armed Forces Establishments during operational deployment or during mobilization in forwarding locations
Granting NOC for groundwater withdrawal for drinking & domestic purposes, two broad categories identified are as follows:
1. Individual households/ connections
2. Infrastructure projects/ industries/ mining projects/ water supply agencies/ others
Individual households/ connections
Individual houses drawing/proposing to draw groundwater through more than one usable well/tube well/cavity or drawing groundwater through a supply pipe of more than 1 "diameter from a single groundwater extraction system shall be needed to obtain NOC for groundwater withdrawal under this category. NOC shall be granted for groundwater extraction, subject to the following conditions:
i. Application for NOC is followed by a proof of household ownership(s).
ii. NOC for new wells shall only be given in such situations where there is no public water supply system/water supply is inadequate.
iii. The applicant shall submit an affidavit on the Rs. 10/- non-judicial stamp paper stating that public water supply is not / inadequately available.
iv. The NOC shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issue, or until such time as the household has been provided with public water supply, whichever is earlier. The applicant shall apply for NOC renewal no later than 90 days in advance to have its validity expired
v. The user must install the digital water flow meter on the well/bore well / well tube and send the data through the web portal
vi. The user shall submit data regarding groundwater abstraction through the web portal.
vii. When the existing well is defunct during the NOC validity period, the user would be able to create a replacement well under intimation to the CGWB Regional Manager.
Infrastructure projects/ industries/ mining projects/ water supply agencies/ others
An indicative list of infrastructure projects to be included in this category is given in Annex VI. NOC for drinking and domestic groundwater extraction only for infrastructure projects/industry/mining projects/ Water supply agencies / other under the following conditions will be granted:
i. NOC Application should be attached with the following documents:
a. Approval in the form of Terms of Reference/ Consent to Establish/ Consent to Operate/ License issued by the statutory bodies viz. Ministry of Environment, Forests& Climate Change (MoEF&CC)/ State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC)/ State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SLEIAA)/ State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)/ Urban/ Rural Development Authority/ Department of Industries or any other authority mandated by Central/ State Government.
b. Details of water requirement computed as per National Building Code, 2016 (Annexure-VII), taking into account recycling/ reuse of treated water for flushing, etc. (in case of new buildings).
c. Affidavit on non-judicial stamp paper of Rs. 10/- by the applicant, confirming non/ inadequate availability of public water supply in case of users requiring groundwater up to 10 m3 / day for drinking/ domestic use.
d. Certificate of non-availability of water from government water supply agency in case of infrastructure project/ industry/ mine requiring groundwater in excess of 10 m3 / day for drinking/ domestic use.
e. Water quality data of bore well/ tube well/ dug well in respect of existing projects from the NABL accredited laboratory.
ii. For new projects requiring > 12,5 m3 / d for purposes like flushing, green belt, etc. shall be mandatory to use of recycled/ treated water
iii. only in such cases where the required amount of water is not available from the public water supply system then only NOC for new /existing wells shall be granted
iv. If the existing well becomes defunct within the validity period of NOC, the user can construct a replacement well under intimation to CGWA on the web portal. The defunct well shall be properly sealed (Refer to Annexure V).
v. The promoter shall install a rooftop rainwater harvesting system in the project area wherever the groundwater level is below ground level by more than 5 meters.
vi. The promoter shall pay the water conservation fee as reasonable based on the quantity of groundwater extraction (see sub-section 2.6)
vii. The installation of a digital water flow meter (conforming to the BIS standard) in the abstraction structure(s) shall be compulsory and an intimation of the same shall be conveyed to the CGWA through the web portal within 30 days of the grant of NOC. A monthly reading of water meters shall be reported digitally, and reports of groundwater abstraction shall be sent to CGWA through the web portal
viii. For proponents drawing/proposing to draw 10m3 / day or more of groundwater, the installation of purpose-built observation wells (piezometers) for monthly groundwater level monitoring shall be compulsory.
ix. The NOC shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issue or until such time as the provision of public water is made to the project area, whichever is earlier.
x. At least 90 days before the expiry of its validity, the proponent/authorized representative of the occupants of the infrastructure project shall apply for the renewal of the NOC.
General Process for obtaining NOC for various category:
âž² Apply for registration
Select online application for NOC, Click on new user registration and create a login id
âž² Apply in through created login id
Select Apply and choose your category of application
âž² Fill up the application
Fill all the required detail in the form and save the application as a draft
âž² Upload the document
âž² Submit the application
âž² Take the printout of the forms to get it signed respectively and attach the Demand draft with the application and submit it to the concerned regional director of CGWA as per the address given within 7 days from the date of submission.
âž² You can check your application status with the generated application id.
Documents required for CGWA NOC for industries and infrastructure application:
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Sl No
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Document
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Extraction up to 10KLD
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Extraction more than 10 KLD
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Extraction more than 500 KLD
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1
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Consent to operate/establish/approval letter from statutory bodies viz Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) or State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SLEIAA)/.{As per Application form Sl. No. 6}
|
YES
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YES
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YES
|
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2
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Certificate of water availability/nonavailability from government water supplying agency.{As per Application form Sl. No. 1(vii)}
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Self-declaration is sufficient
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YES
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YES
|
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3
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Proposal for rainwater harvesting / artificial recharge as per the “Guidelines / Criteria for Evaluation of Proposals / Requests for Ground Water Abstraction (with effect from 16.11.2015)”. In case, the water harvesting / artificial recharge structure is proposed to be constructed outside the area of the industry, NOC is required from that agency/ authority where the structure is proposed. The dimension of the pond should mention in NOC.{As per Application form Sl. No. 5}
|
Only rooftop rain harvesting design is required
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YES
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YES
|
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4
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The comprehensive report on groundwater conditions in and around 5 km of the areas required if the industry extracts groundwater 500 m3/day or more. {As per Application form Sl. No.4}.
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NO
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NO
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YES
|
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5
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Groundwater quality report of the existing tube well may be done through a government approved lab. {As per Application form Sl. No. 3(a)}
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NO
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YES
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YES
|
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6
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Authorization letter from the firm
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YES
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YES
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YES
|
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7
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Scanned copy of the application with signature and seal.
(It will be generated while filling the online application and before final submission.)
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YES
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YES
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YES
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