Guideline For Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019

The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly enacted the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019 on 7th August 2019. The main objective of this Act is to protect, conserve, control and regulate ground water resources under the jurisdiction of Uttar Pradesh Government.

Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee

As per the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, the State Government is tasked to set up a Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee, which would serve as the bottom of the pyramid public unit in any block of the rural area, responsible to protect and manage ground water resources in that area.

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The Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee would consist of the following:

1.  Chairperson which is to be manned by the Gram Pradhan
2. Member Secretary to be manned by the Gram Panchayat Secretary
3. 3 members of the sub-committee to be nominated by the Block Development Officer and manned by the representatives of the Gram Panchayat having field knowledge of the water resources in that area
4. 2 members of Bhujal Sena or ground water association and nominated by the Block Development Officer
5. 2 members from the concerned Government Departments and nominated by the Block Development Officer

Functions of the Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee:

The Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee is mandated to perform following functions:

1. It is tasked with the collection of all information from every available source regarding the availability, quality and quantity of the ground water in that area.
2. It is also mandated to prepare a detailed Gram Panchayat Ground Water Security Plan.
3. It is to perform other functions as per the rules and regulations of this Act.

Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee

As per the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, the State Government is tasked with the constitution of Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee in each block of the state so that this committee could act as the public unit at the block level. This committee should consist of:

1. Block Pramukh as the Chairperson of the committee
2. Block Development Officer (BDO) as the Member Secretary
3. Three members of the Gram Panchayats to be nominated by the District Magistrate
4. 2 members as representatives of Bhujal Sena or ground water association and nominated by the District Magistrate
5. Two members of the concerned Governments as representatives in the committee nominated by the District Magistrate

Functions of the Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee:

1. The Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee is tasked with the preparation of consolidated block-level groundwater security Water Security Plan by collating the data from the ten Gram Panchayats in one stack.
2. It is mandated to monitor the efficient implementation of the Block Panchayat Ground Water Security plan thus prepared.
3. It is also required to fulfill any duty/duties which may be decided at a later date in the execution of this Act.

Municipal Water Management Committee

As per the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, the State Government is tasked with the constitution of a Municipal Water Management Committee, which would act as the lowest public unit in the urban areas of the State.

The Municipal Water Management Committee should consist of:

1. The Nagar Pramukh or Nagar Palika Pramukh, is the Chairperson of this committee.
2. The Nagar Ayukt or Executive Officer, is the Member Secretary
3. Two members with domain expertise are the representatives of the general public
4. Two members from any Resident Welfare Association nominated by the District Magistrate
5. Three members, two from the concerned departments and one from the Ground Water Department, are to be nominated by the District Magistrate

The Functions of the Municipal Water Management Committee:

1. The Municipal Water Management Committee is to co-ordinate and synergize all the actions of other institutions related to water conservation within that particular municipal area.
2. It is tasked to determine and integrate all the available resources of water, both ground water and surface water.
3. It is mandated to prepare and execute the Municipal Ground Water Security Plans.
4. The Municipal Water Management Committee is mandated to register all the wells in notified and non-notified areas within the territorial jurisdiction of a particular Municipality
5. It may be required to perform other duties and functions from time to time which may be necessary to implement the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019

District Ground Water Management Council

As per the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, the State Government is tasked with the constitution of a District Ground Water Management Council, which is to act as an overall public unit for management of ground water resources at the district level.

The District Ground Water Management Council is to consist of:

1. District Magistrate as the Chairperson
2. District Development Officer (DDO) as the Member Secretary
3. One expert with extensive experience in the field of water conservation will be nominated by the District Magistrate
4. One member from the general public or a Non-Government organization having field experience and to be nominated by the District Magistrate
5. Each member is to be from the concerned Government department, such as Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, UP Ground Water Department, Irrigation Department, Local Body , Development Authority,  Industry Department, Horticulture and Forest and Wildlife Department
6. One invitee member as the representative of Gram Panchayat Water Sub-Committee, Block Water Development Committee

Functions of the District Ground Water Management Council

1. The District Ground Water Management Council is tasked with the consolidation of water security plans of the Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee and the Municipal Water Management Committee into the District Water Security Plan
2. It is mandated to implement and monitor the District Water Security Plan
3. It is also mandated to conduct programs for spreading awareness of water use and its conservation among the general public.
4. The District Ground Water Management Council is expected to work on registering all existing commercial, industrial, infrastructural and bulk users in notified and non-notified areas, granting NOCs for water abstraction in non-notified areas and registering drilling agencies.
5. It is expected to co-ordinate with the Gram Panchayat Ground Water Sub-Committee, the Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee and the Municipal Water Management Committee for water conservation.
6. It may be required to perform duties and functions as per the directions of the State Government

Uttar Pradesh State Water Management and Regulatory Authority

As per the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, the State Government is tasked with the constitution of a State Authority, by notification in the official Gazette, to be known as the Uttar Pradesh State Water Management and Regulatory Authority.

The Uttar Pradesh State Water Management and Regulatory Authority is to consist of:

1. The Chief Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Government as the Chairperson
2. The Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of the Minor Irrigation and Ground Water Department as a member
3. The Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of the Finance Department of the State Government as the Member
4. The Chief-Engineer of Irrigation and Water Department as the Member
5. The Director, State Agriculture Department, as the member
6.  The Director, State Horticulture Department, as the member
7. The Member Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, as the member
8. The Chief Town and Country Planner, Awas evam Shahri Niyojan Vibhag of the State, is a State, is a member
9. The Director of State, Awas Bandhu, is member
10. The Director, State Local Bodies, as the member
11. The Director of State Industries Department is a member
12. The Regional Director of Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) as member
13. Three members are experts with extensive work experience and have been nominated by the State Government
14. A renowned person from the public or an NGO working in the field of water conservation
15. One invitee representative each from Block Panchayat Ground Water Management Committee, Municipal Ground Water Management Committee and District Ground Water Management Council  

Functions of the Uttar Pradesh State Water Management and Regulatory Authority

1. The Uttar Pradesh State Water Management and Regulatory Authority is mandated to notify the areas for ground water abstraction, management and regulation
2. It is also mandated to de-notify the areas if the ground water scenario in an area improves over time.
3. It is tasked with fixing the abstraction limits for ground water usage.
4. It is tasked with the implementation of measures for ground water pollution control. 

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