37-Groundwater Ownership and Legal Aspects.

Abstract

Ground water is fast becoming the most scarce one because of its unabated and indiscriminate over-exploitation than the availability. Archaic laws governing water use and water rights; erosion of community control and collective decision making on the maintenance and use of assets; lack of political will to increase water charges; and failure to promote measures for improving water use, efficiency in crops are some of the significant reasons, which lead to cause of scarcity on availability. Ironically, the right to underground water in India is still guided by the law enacted in the last century on the lines of the British Common Law. Ground water was considered an easement connected to land: who owns the land, owns the ground water beneath the land (Easement Act, 1882). Ownership of ground water accrues to the owner of the land above; use and disposition governed by tenancy laws. This outmoded legislation grants a landowner an absolute right to water beneath his piece of land. An individual, therefore, is free to extract any quantity of water from the ground without caring about his share to the water resource i.e. rich farmers with higher pumping capacity and deep tube wells exploit the shares of neighbouring poor farmers. This law obviously needs to be modified taking the present situation into account. Since water is a common property due chiefly to its dynamic nature, water laws should take into account the principles of access, justice and social equity. These laws need to recognize the hydrogeological unit of water resources and provide importance in conjunctive use of surface and ground water. An integrated administrative approach on management of surface and groundwater rights can bring out solution to that affect. The present paper compiles and analyses the provisions, acts and enactments of laws, policies, regulating methods, etc. in position and their complexities in implementation and operation. To overcome problems related to regulations and control the over-exploitation of ground water, few suggestions have been made.