Groundwater Management of Tamil Nadu, India
By: Talia Sopiyani , Students of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Pancasakti Tegal
The researcher’s first reaction paper is on a class discussion on September 4, 2020. The discussion centred on the groundwater management problems of the State of Tamil Nadu located in South India. Tamil Nadu does not have an adequate legal mechanism to regulate and ensure the wise use of groundwater.
At the beginning of the discussion, the Professor explained groundwater management in terms of two paradigms: the elitist and the egalitarian. Groundwater is an invisible resource, and therefore the water bureaucracy should step in to ensure that water is available to the power. However, Tamil Nadu does not have a proper groundwater management mechanism in place. The water bureaucracy is staffed poorly. They have no technical resources and no financial resources to carry out the job. Besides, the doctrine of public trust has also not been implemented.
Tamil Nadu has poorly managed groundwater and has faced severe water crises for the past several decades. Groundwater is excessively used for irrigation and industrial needs. But Tamil Nadu is blessed with an abundance of water during the rainy season. But the water is not storable. Tamil Nadu almost uses 95% of its surface water. Water Mafia uses loopholes in the law to sell water and profit from the same. In the coastal areas, because of overexploitation, the water is entirely salty. Tamil Nadu also currently does not have legislation to regulate groundwater management that previously existed, and therefore there is no legal mechanism in place.
However, Tamil Nadu does have a groundwater management act to regulate groundwater extraction in Chennai. There are proposals to develop the Chennai law into a groundwater law for the whole of Tamil Nadu. There are concerns regarding the presence of several miniseries managing different aspects of the same resources, such as drinking and irrigation.
The Professor explained a general principle relating to managing all resources. All need resources. However, a few tend to appropriate the resource and try to benefit the most from it.Accordingly, there can be over-exploitation of the resource, and environmental considerations will be ignored. Sustainable management is one of the objectives of the groundwater management law. However, it would appear that this objective is not reflected in most groundwater laws. It illustrates the discrepancies between management and existing rules. The Chennai groundwater law is one example.
The Professor explained that water laws could be based on providing benefits to the maximum number of people. The Professor explained the policy issues relating to water management in Tamil Nadu.In Tamil Nadu, groundwater use increased drastically due to the introduction of mechanical pumps on a large scale a few decades ago. Incentives to farmers to exploit groundwater intensively led to a short-term crisis associated with the availability of water. In this way, wrong policies affected the water available for future generations.
The overexploitation of groundwater by the mafia to increase profits also adds to the problem. On learning about these issues, I felt concerned. There has to be a significant amount of self-awareness to care for water in Tamil Nadu. There has to be a proper regulatory mechanism to take care of the resource and lay down rules regarding its use. Environmental issues are a vital part of our daily life. Selling groundwater in Tamil Nadu should be based on sound rules as not to cause harm later.
There are three relatively inexpensive and concrete steps suggested for the continued use of groundwater resources in this respect in Tamil Nadu: First, there has to be a thorough and transparent assessment of the actual surface water and groundwater situation. The technical, economic and social efficiency must also be assessed. This assessment should be carried out at regular intervals. Second, carry out a massive water-education campaign, noting the groundwater’s special characteristics, emphasizing the need for developing types of common-pool resources. Third, encourage the formation of soil-user associations to manage intensive development of aquifers. Fourth, cooperation between civil society and government can be mutually beneficial. Fith, governments should also be quick to create regulations governing groundwater in Tamil Nadu, and it must be made available to the public.
The Professor’s explanation of a general principle relating to all resources management is that by leveraging or developing resources considering the public interest, has the author’s approval. If groundwater management is not provided adequate attention, India will face a massive water crisis in the years to come. Recognizing the importance of groundwater development and groundwater management, the Indian government has initiated several corrective and protective actions besides introducing a bill for groundwater management far back in 1970. Significant recharging of groundwater, conjunctive use of the canal command, establishing the groundwater monitoring station, etc. are some of the most important schemes launched by the government. However, for this scheme to be result-oriented, strong political, administrative, and technical will and expertise is required. There is a need to raise awareness among the users so that groundwater management can become a people’s program. As the Professor has explained, water conservation is necessary both concerning quantity and quality.
The author concludes the reaction paper by suggesting that water users of Tamil Nadu and the government need to create strong synergies in existing groundwater management to minimize future water crises.
*Citing various sources.
By: Talia Sopiyani, Students of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Pancasakti Tegal
https://baladena.id/groundwater-management-of-tamil-nadu…/