Overview on CGWA-Water Boring

To govern and control the development and management of groundwater resources in the country, the Central Ground Water Authority was constituted under Section 3 (3) of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986.  

What are the powers and functions of the Central Groundwater Authority?

The central Groundwater authority shall have the below powers:

1. The CGWA shall have the powers conferred under section 5 of the environment protection act 1986 issued directions and taking measures same referred under sub-section (2) of section 3 of the aforesaid act.
2. To regulate the groundwater management and related developments in the country and issue regulatory directions for the purpose. 
3. It shall have the power under section 4 of the Environment protection act 1986 for the officers' appointment.

Central Groundwater Authority Regulatory Measures:

• The Central Ground Water Authority regulates groundwater removal by industries/projects. The SPCB & the Ministry of Environment and Forests have been given a list of these key regions, and they are referring new companies and projects to the CGWA for approval.
• For the control and management of groundwater development, the CGWA has declared 162 critical/ overexploited sites in sections of NCT Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, UT of Puducherry, and UT of Diu. According to Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, relevant Deputy Commissioners/District Magistrates have been asked to regulate groundwater development in certain designated areas to enforce the regulatory measures.
• New groundwater construction is prohibited in some notified areas. The Permission for drilling the tube wells has been granted only to some government agencies in charge of or managing the drinking water supply.

Category of Areas

• Notified Areas
• Non-Notifies Areas 

Notified Area

The Central Ground Water Authority has notified various blocks, talukas, manuals, and regions for groundwater development and management regulation under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Abstraction of groundwater for any purpose other than drinking and household use is prohibited in notified locations. CGWA has nominated Officer-in-Charge of Revenue District (District Collector / Deputy Commissioner / District Magistrate) as Authorized Officers for notified areas located in concerning revenue district in the exercise of duties under section 4 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Authorized Officer in notified regions is responsible for providing NOCs for groundwater withdrawals, monitoring violations, and enforcing penalties such as tube well closing, initiating prosecutions against offenders, and so on. Those Areas that have been notified.

Non-Notified Areas

Non-notified areas are blocks, talukas, Mandals, and areas that the CGWA has not notified to control groundwater development and management. In these locations, the CGWA awards NOCs for groundwater extraction to industrial, infrastructure, and mining projects that follow the guidelines/criteria for evaluating proposals/requests for groundwater abstraction.

Groundwater Abstraction Permit (NOC) (NOCAP)

After careful examination of the documents presented by the applicant, the Central Ground Water Board issues a NOC. NOCAP is the name of the online application submission method.

Eligibility Criteria

You need to find out if you are eligible for a NOC from CGWA; see the given below Eligibility Criteria on the CGWA website.

1. Industrial, Infrastructure and Mining are the three industry segments to which you belong.
2. Fresh or saline water is the type of water you want to utilize.
3. Whether you're establishing a new plant or extracting water for your existing plant & your location. 

Types of NOC and documents required

• Infrastructure water boring NOC
• Industrial water boring NOC
• Mining water boring NOC

List of Documents required for CGWA/CGWB NOC for Infrastructure water boring

• Permission to operate, establish and receive the approval letter from statutory bodies like the ministry of environment and forest affairs 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.
• Map of the location and site plan (Ad per application form SI. No. 1 (ii)
• Only for groundwater withdrawal, a flow chart depicting the water requirement and recycled water use at each stage. As per Sl. No. 3(ii), (iii) of the Application Form (An example flow chart is shown.) In this, all the required details should be shown in tabular format. 
• As per Application form Sl. No. 1(vi), a certificate of water availability/non-availability from government water supplying body is required. Under this, a self-declaration should be given.
• Assessment of water requirements according to CPHEEO guidelines, including recycling and reusing treated water (As per Sl. No. 2 of the Application Form).
• If the industry takes groundwater at 500 m3/day or higher, a detailed report on groundwater conditions around 5 km of the region is necessary. (As per Sl. No.7 Application Form). 
• A government-approved lab can conduct a groundwater quality report on all existing tube wells. (As per Sl. No.6(a) of the Application Form) 
• Letter of authorization is required from the concerned authority

List of Documents required for CGWA/CGWB NOC for Industrial sector:

• Permission to operate, establish and receive the approval letter from statutory organizations, such as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB), the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), or the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SLEIAA). (As per Sl. No. 6 of the Application Form)
• Location map and site plan is required (As per Application form Sl. No. 1(ii))
• Only for groundwater withdrawal, a flow chart depicting the water requirement and recycled water use at each stage. (As per Sl. No. 3(ii), (iii) of the Application Form) 
• As per Application form Sl. No. 1(vi), a certificate of water availability/non-availability from government water supplying body is required. A self-declaration is required
• Proposal for rainwater harvesting/artificial recharge in accordance with the Guidelines or Criteria for Evaluation of Proposals or Requests for Ground Water Abstraction. (As per Sl. No. 8 of the Application Form).
• Assessment of water requirements according to CPHEEO guidelines, including recycling and reuse of treated water. (As per Sl. No. 2 of the Application Form)
• If the industry takes groundwater at a rate of 500 m3/day or higher, a comprehensive study on groundwater conditions in and around 5 km of the region is necessary. (As per Sl. No.7 Application Form)
• A government-approved lab can conduct a groundwater quality report on all existing tube wells. (As per Sl. No.6(a) of the Application Form)
• Letter of authorization is required from the concerned authority

Documents Required for a CGWA/CGWB NOC for Mining Projects

• TOR/EC/Approval letter from statutory organizations such as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), the State Pollution Control Board, the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), or the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SLEIAA) (SLEIAA). As per Sl. No.21 Application Form.
• Location map and site plan is required (As per Application form Sl. No. 1(ii))
• A government-approved lab can conduct a groundwater quality report on all existing tube wells. As per Application form Sl. No.17(e)
• Letter of authorization is required from the concerned authority.
• As per Application form Sl. No.19, a detailed report on groundwater conditions around 5 km of the area is required.
• Groundwater regime monitoring wells are shown on a map. As per Sl. No.17 Application Form.
• At each stage of the process, a flow chart is shown depicting the amount of water required and the amount of recycled water used. As per Sl. No.14 Application Form (An example flow chart is shown)
• Rainwater harvesting/artificial recharge proposal. As per Sl. No.20 Application Form.