Borewells as a Cause of Accidents : Supreme Court Suggest measures

‘Water’ being a State subject, punitive action, against the erring contractors/ landowners are taken by the concerned State agencies. The Honourable Supreme Court has issued directives in the year 2010 to Chief Secretaries/ Administrators of all the States/ Union Territories to adopt certain measures such as registration of drilling agencies capping the wells properly, erection of signboards and fencing, filling of pits and channels after completion of drilling operation, filling of abandoned wells by clay/ sand/ boulders/ pebbles etc. Further, the landowners before taking up any construction works must inform to the concerned authorities. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also directed that in rural areas, monitoring and execution should be done by Panchayati Raj Institutions and in urban areas by the Municipal Corporations/ Public Health Departments.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Water Resources and Minority Affairs Shri Vincent H. Pala in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha