The action taken by the Government to prevent over-explotation of ground water and to reduce the reliance on decreasing groundwater reserves include circulation of a model bill to regulate and control the development and management of ground water

The National Water Policy stipulates that:

• There should be a periodical reassessment of the ground water potential on a scientific basis, taking into consideration the quality of the water available and economic viability of its extraction.

• Exploitation of ground water resources should be so regulated as not to exceed the recharging possibilities, as also to ensure social equity. The detrimental environmental consequences of over-exploitation of ground water need to be effectively prevented by the Central and State Governments.

• Integrated and coordinated development of surface water and ground water resources and their conjunctive use, should be envisaged right from the project planning stage and should form an integral part of the project implementation.

• Over-exploitation of ground water should be avoided especially near the coast to prevent ingress of seawater into sweet aquifers.

The action taken by the Government to prevent over-explotation of ground water and to reduce the reliance on decreasing groundwater reserves include circulation of a model bill to regulate and control the development and management of ground water to all the State/UTs, constitution of an Advisory Council on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, sanctioning of Farmers Participatory Action Research Programmes to promote more crop and income per drop of water, initiatives for conservation and regulation of the ground water resources, rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge to ground

This information was given by the Minister of State for Water Resources, Shri Vincent H. Pala  in the Lok Sabha