With the state’s groundwater crisis worsening — data showing a decline in almost every district — and the legislation meant to fix it still awaiting the governor’s nod, farmers in Tamil Nadu’s delta region are looking forward to the opening of the Mettur dam sluices on Sept 1.Piezometer readings from the State Ground and Surface Water Resources Data Centre show that groundwater levels fell in 35 of Tamil Nadu’s 38 districts in July compared with the same month last year. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Water Resources (Regulation, Management and Augmentation) Bill, passed by the DMK-led assembly in Jan as a comprehensive legislation, is still awaiting assent from Lok Bhavan.Tamil Nadu’s water resources are under growing pressure from rapid population expansion, urbanisation, industrial activity besides climate change. Excessive and unregulated extraction, along with inefficient use, is weakening water security and damaging aquatic ecosystems. The state needs an integrated framework that treats groundwater, surface water, wastewater and river basins as interconnected parts of a single water management system.“Extraction continues without regulation,” says Duraimurugan, DMK general secretary and former water resources minister. “Borewells are being drilled up to 2,000ft. It was against this backdrop that our govt decided to bring in legislation to regulate, manage and augment state’s water resources. The proposed law would repeal the Chennai Metropolitan Area Groundwater Regulation Act, 1987, and provide a uniform regulatory framework across Tamil Nadu.”The bill provides for the establishment of a Tamil Nadu Water Resources Management Authority and district-level committees. It also proposes state and district water resources management plans, interlinking of rivers, tanks and other water bodies to store excess floodwater, prevention of water pollution, regulation of commercial water users, a tariff on water abstraction and measures for flood management. It includes penalties for violations.Tamil Nadu’s earlier groundwater legislation, the Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2003, was repealed in 2013. A 2014 govt order regulates groundwater extraction through a mandatory no-objection certificate and licensing system. It prohibits water-based industries in over-exploited and critical blocks, restricts extraction by highly polluting industries near major rivers and within 10km of the coast, and requires certain infrastructure projects and water-based industries for clearance. It also mandates rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge measures to protect groundwater reserves.The latest groundwater assessment, however, of 1,202 firkas (cluster of revenue villages within a taluk) found that 386 were over-exploited, 62 critical, 244 semi-critical and 34 affected by saline or poor-quality water. Only 476 firkas were classified as safe. “Groundwater exploitation has increased with the rise in per capita income. Artificial recharge measures must be implemented and monitored. We need penalties for violations,” says N S Subbiah, a retired PWD official and an expert in groundwater management.Policy makers say a Union govt initiative launched a decade ago to promote artificial groundwater recharge, including 100% subsidy for small and marginal farmers, could not make an impact because of a lack of support from beneficiaries. The state ground and surface water resources wing’s role is limited to recommending recharge structures, conducting scientific assessments for borewells, analysing water quality in observation wells and issuing no-objection certificates, apart from periodically assessing groundwater levels.Agriculture department data shows that kuruvai paddy cultivation in the delta stood at 4.5 lakh acres as of Aug 17, despite water not being released from Mettur reservoir on the customary date of June 12. Says Sami Natarajan, general secretary of the CPM-affiliated Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, “Cultivation was possible in pockets only because of borewells. Successive govts over five decades have mismanaged state’s water resources. Despite the allocation of thousands of crores for desilting and rehabilitation, the work has not yielded the desired results,” says Natarajan.Tamil Nadu remained dependent on neighbouring states for water from the Mullaperiyar, Cauvery and Palar, leaving cultivation vulnerable to inter-state relations and the vagaries of nature. TVK govt’s announcement of 45 days of water release from Mettur, with further release linked to reservoir storage, has added to farmers’ uncertainty. “There is no precedent for a govt announcing that water will be released for only 45 days. Such statements reflect a lack of administrative preparedness,” says Natarajan. Mettur reservoir is opened on June 12 every year and closed on Jan 28.Here’s how Cauvery water-sharing worksSupreme Court issued directions in Feb 2018.Union govt should frame a “scheme” under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, to implement the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s award, as modified by the court in Feb 2018. Four months later, Union govt notified the formation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), headed by an eminent engineer in water-resource management and inter-state water-sharing issues, or an IAS officer, and head-quartered in New Delhi. CWRC, headed by the CWMA’s whole-time member in charge of water resources, is headquartered in Bengaluru.Water Tamil Nadu is entitled to realize in a year.Karnataka is required to release 177.25 tmcft of water annually from June 1 at Biligundulu, the inter-state border. The monthly release schedule too is prescribed by Supreme Court.CWMA’s responsibilitiesEnsure compliance with and implementation of the tribunal’s award; storing, apportioning, regulating and controlling Cauvery waters; supervising operation of reservoirs; and regulating water releases from the reservoirs.Reservoirs under CWMA supervisionKerala – Banasurasagar; Karnataka – Hemavathy, Harangi, Kabini and Krishnarajasagar; Tamil Nadu – Lower Bhavani, Amaravathy and Mettur. Reservoir operations are to be reviewed for ten-day periods throughout the year, taking into account the seasonal needs of the basin states for irrigation, hydropower generation, domestic consumption and industrial use.What happens if a state does not cooperate.If the Authority finds that Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala or the Union Territory of Puducherry is not cooperating in implementing its decisions, it can seek Centre’s assistance. If a state’s default causes a delay or shortfall in the release of water, CWMA can take corrective measures by adjusting the shortfall against that state’s subsequent water releases.
