Events

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with RGNGWTRI, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India has organized an “Online Certificate Training on Regulation and Control of Ground Water” bringing together Industry leaders, Groundwater professionals, hydrogeologist, water resource managers, industry representatives, consultants, researchers, and academicians. This program aims to provide insights into the guidelines issued by the CGWA for regulation and control of groundwater extraction, groundwater charges, mandatory reporting requirements, monitoring and compliance of NOC conditions, and procedures related to applications through the BhuNeer platform and promote responsible groundwater utilization among stakeholders. The welcome addresses were given by Mr. Ramesh Jena (Scientist C, CGWA) and Mr. M N Girish (Sr. Director and Head, RCM Division, FICCI).

Over the course of 2 days the key session highlights are as follows:

• Introduction to MoJS Notified Guidelines to Regulate and Control Ground Water Extraction in India (24-09- 2020 and Amendments 29-03-2023), Calculation of GW Charges, EC, Penalty, and other provisions by Sh. Uddeshya Kumar - (Sc. 'C', CGWA, New Delhi): During his presentation Mr. Kumar briefly discussed about the Constitution of CGWA, Function of CGWA, History of Notification regarding Ground water regulation. His presentation also touched upon the recent amendments to the Ground water regulation from CGWA and briefly discussed its components such as compliance conditions of NOC, GW abstraction charges, EC Conditions, and penalties for non-compliance. During the end of the presentation, he discussed about the entities which are exempted from this Notification, and which are eligible under this notification to apply for NOC.

• Need for Impact Assessment Reports (IAR/CHR/GWM) and Water Audit Report by Ms. Sophia - (Scientist ‘C’, CGWA, New Delhi): Ms. Sophia’s presentation highlighted the requirement and need of reports and Applicability of such similar reports in different cases, based on the limit of ground water extracted by the proponent. Further, a brief comparison was also made among the various assessment reports necessary by CGWA. Factor which are evaluated by the CGWA in such reports were also discussed. During the end of her presentation, she briefly discussed about the Ground Water Modelling and Reporting structure of CGWA Water Audit Report (Summary Sheet), applicability of Ground water Modelling and Water audit report along with the Scope of Water Audit and Applicability of Water Audit report was also discussed.

• Monitoring & Compliance : Mandatory NOC conditions its compliance, Renewal of applications, Revival of Rejected applications, Surrender of NOC, Extension of NOC by Ms. Shilpa Gupta – (Scientist 'D', CGWA, New Delhi): Ms. Shilpa’s presentation focused on the Monitoring and Compliance regarding the NOC for Ground water extraction. She briefly explained the mandatory compliance conditions associated with the NOC, renewal of NOC and surrender of NOC. Her presentation also explained the process for applying for extension of NOC under different conditions. She also touched upon the penalties associated with the non-compliance of the NOC Conditions.

• Overview of the BhuNeer APP portal, filing of new and renewal application, Filing of compliance report, Computation of charges in BhuNeer App portal (abstraction charges, EC, penalty), Issue reporting and resolution mechanism by Ms. Iti Gupta - (Scientist 'D', CGWA, New Delhi): Her presentation focuses on the newly introduced APP and site called Bhuneer for all the activities related to renewal and application for NOC for Groundwater Abstraction. During her presentation she gave an overview of the Bhuneer App along with the process for applying and renewal of the NOC and how does the charges (abstraction, EC and penalty charges) are computed on the Bhuneer portal. She also gave a practical demonstration of the Portal showing how a proponent can apply for the new application, renewal of the application and how they can report any issue that they are facing in the portal.

The session witnessed enthusiastic participation and meaningful discussions, reflecting the growing commitment of Indian industries and the stakeholders towards Increasing the awareness of regulatory and technical requirements and to strengthened capacity for sustainable groundwater management