7. (1) The Government
shall, by notification, establish with effect from such date as may be
specified in the notification, an Authority to be called the Tamil Nadu
Groundwater Authority.
(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession
and a common seal, and shall be liable to sue and be sued.
(3) The Authority shall consist of the following members nominated by the Government, namely:-
(a) an Officer of the Government, in such rank as may be prescribed who shall also be the Chairman.
(b) two representatives of different departments, concerned with ground water exploration;
(c) One person having special knowledge or practical experience in matters relating to groundwater;
(d) One full time technical Officer in the rank of Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, who shall also be the Member-Secretary.
(4) The term of office and the manner of filling the vacancies and other conditions of service of any non-official member shall be such as may be prescribed.
(5) The meetings of the Authority shall be at such times and by such procedure as may be prescribed.
8. (1) The Government shall, for the purpose of enabling the Authority to efficiently perform its functions or to exercise its powers under this Act, appoint such number of technical and other employees as they may consider necessary.
(2) The functions, powers and terms and conditions of service of the employees appointed under subsection (1) shall be such as may be prescribed.
9. (1) If in the opinion of the Authority, it is in the public interest to notify any area for developing groundwater or to regulate the extraction or use, or both, of groundwater in any form in such area, it may, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), from time to time, by notification, declare such area, to be a notified area with effect on and from such date as may be specified therein.
(2) The Authority shall publish a provisional notification and invite representations thereon from the public within one month from the date of such publication. It shall examine the representations, if any, received and may modify or revise the notification, if necessary. The final notification under sub-section (1), so modified or revised, shall be published before the expiry of three months from the date of publication of the Bill
(3) With effect from the date of publication of the final notification, the Authority shall have power to direct, regulate and control the development, extraction and utilisation of groundwater in the notified area in such manner as it deems fit.
(4) The Authority may cause to undertake investigation in order to periodically evaluate the ground water potential in the notified area on a continuous basis.
10 (1) Every user of ground water in the notified area immediately before the date of publication of the final notification under section 9 in respect of that area shall, within a period of forty-five days from the date specified in such notification or such further time as may be granted by the Authority for reasons to be recorded, apply to the Authority for the grant of a certificate of registration recognising his existing use, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that the Authority may entertain an application after the expiry of the said period if it is satisfied that such person was, for sufficient reasons, not in a position to apply in time.
(2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), if the Authority is satisfied that it will not be against public interest to do so, may grant, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be specified, a certificate of registration authorising the use of groundwater.
(3) The Authority may, on its own motion, take steps to register the wells existing on ground and in use on the notified date.
(4) The registration shall be completed within such time as may be prescribed.
(5) The decision of the Authority shall be communicated to the applicant within a period of sixty days from the date of such decision or such further extended time as may be notified by the Authority, provided that the reasons for extension of time shall be recorded in writing.
(6) Pending communication by the Authority of its decision under sub-section(5), every user of groundwater in the notified area immediately before the date of publication of the final notification under sub-section (2) of section 9 in respect of that notified area shall be eligible for the continued use of the groundwater.
(7) If a registered well becomes defunct, the fact shall be immediately brought to the notice of the Authority by the user of groundwater.
11. (1) No person shall, either himself or through any person on his behalf, engage in sinking any well or any other activity connected therewith in any notified area without obtaining a permit under sub-section(3):
Provided that this sub-section shall not apply for sinking of well or extraction or use of groundwater for domestic purpose.
(2) Any person desiring to
sink a well in a notified area, for any purpose other than domestic purpose,
shall apply to the Authority in such form and in such manner together with
such fee as may be prescribed for the grant of a permit.
(3) On receipt of an application under sub-section (2), if the Authority is satisfied after enquiry that it shall not be against public interest to do so, may grant, subject to such conditions and restrictions as it may specify, a permit authorising the sinking of well and the extraction and use of the groundwater from such well, or refuse to grant permit.
Provided that no applicant shall be refused a permit unless he has been given an opportunity of being heard.
(4) In granting or refusing to grant a permit under sub-section (3), the Authority shall have regard to the following matters, namely:-
(a) the purpose for which groundwater is to be used, the quantum and mode of extraction,
(b) the existence of other users including prior users and any community well in the neighbourhood,
(c) the quantum of available groundwater resources in the notified area,
(d) Whether the applicant concerned has the means and competence to extract water, and
(e) any other matter as may be prescribed.
12. (1) All the wells sunk in the State on or after the date of commencement of this Act shall be registered, including the wells in the areas not notifed under section 9, with the Authority in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (7) of section 10 shall be applicable for such registration.
13. (1) No person shall
transport groundwater by means of lorry, trailer or any other motor vehicle
from any notified area for any purpose without obtaining a permit under
sub-section (4).
(2) Any person desiring to transport groundwater from any notified area for any purpose, by means of lorry, trailer or any other motor vehicle shall apply to the Authority for the grant of a permit.
(3) Every application made under sub-section (2) shall be in such form
and in such manner and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed.
(4) On receipt of an application under sub-section (2), if the Authority
is satisfied that it shall not be against public interest to do so, may
grant, on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, a permit subject to
such conditions and restrictions as may be specified therein, authorising
the transportation of groundwater from the notified area, or refuse to
grant a permit:
Provided that no applicant
shall be refused a permit unless the applicant has been given an opportunity
of being heard:
Provided further that where
the Authority to whom an application is made under sub-section (2), fails
to inform the applicant of its decision on the application within a period
of thirty days from the date of receipt of such application, the permit
shall be deemed to have been granted to the applicant and such person shall,
for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a holder of a permit.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) to (4), any
person transporting groundwater by means of lorry, trailer or any other
motor vehicle immediately before the date of publication of the final notification
under sub-section (1) of section 9 may continue to transport groundwater
for a period not exceeding thirty days from such date.
Explanation:- For
the purpose of this section, the expression 'motor vehicle' shall have
the same meaning assigned to it in clause (28) of section 2 of the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988.
14. (1) At any time after
the issue of a certificate of registration or a permit, as the case may
be, the authority may, modify, amend or cancel the terms of certificate
of registration or permit, as the case may be, for reasons to be recorded,
either permanently or for a specified period to prevent decline in the
water table or deterioration in water quality or other effects that may
be detrimental to the continued availability or quality of groundwater
in the notified area:
Provided that no such modification, amendment or cancellation shall be made, unless the holder of such certificate of registration or permit, as the case may be, is given an opportunity of being heard.
(2) If the Authority is satisfied either on information received by it
in this behalf or otherwise, that --
(a) the certificate of registration or permit has been obtained by fraud or supression or misrepresentation of facts, or
(b) the holder of certificate of registration or permit has contravened any of the previsions of this Act or the rules made thereunder or has failed to comply with the conditions subject to which the certificate of registration or permit, has been granted, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the holder of the certificate of registration or permit may be liable under this Act or any other Act,
the Authority may, after giving the holder of the Certificate of registration
or permit, an opportunity to show cause and after considering his representation,
by order, cancel the certificate of registration or permit.
Central Act IX of 1910
15. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Electricity Act, 1910,
any licensee or the Tamilnadu State Electricity Board, shall not supply
electrical energy for energising –
(a) any well sunk in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; or
(b) any well inrespect of which the permit granted under this act has been cancelled; or
(c) any source of groundwater in respect of which certificate of registration has not been granted in accordance with the provisions of this Act or having been granted, the certificate of registration has been cancelled;
(d) any well, in respect of which conditions including modifications and alterations as laid down in the permit are not carried out.
16. Every notification under this Act shall be in such form as may be prescribed and shall be published, --
(a) in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette and in atleast one local daily newspaper in the notified area;
(b) by proclaiming the contents
of the notification by beat of drum or by means of public address system
in notified area;
(c) by displaying a
copy of the notification on the notice board of the office of the Revenue
and Public Works Departments concerned.
17. (1) For carrying out the purposes of this Act, the Authority or any person authorised by it in writing in this behalf, shall have the following powers, namely:-
(a) to enter upon any property belonging to an individual or the Government, as the case may be, for investigation or collection of data pertaining to the land or water;
(b)to inspect any well which is sunk or being sunk and the soils and other materials excavated therefrom;
(c)to take specimen of such soils or groundwater or other materials;
(d) to require in writing any person sinking a well to preserve in the prescribed manner, specimens of soils or groundwater or any material excavated therefrom for a period not exceeding one month from the date of completion or abandonment of the work;
(e) to inspect and take copies of the relevant records or documents and seek any information pertaining to the well as may be required;
(f) to serve or cause to be served a notice requiring any person using groundwater to furnish such information as required in such form, at such intervals and with such particulars as may be prescribed;
(g) to require any person using groundwater to install measuring devices on any groundwater supplies;
(h) to seize and take possession of any equipment utilised for unauthorised sinking.
(i) to require any person
using groundwater who does not comply with the provisions of this Act to
cease to extract groundwater or dismantle any hydraulic structure found
to be unauthorised or direct the authority concerned to enforce the provisions
of section 15;
(j) to enter and search at
all reasonable times with such assistance, if any, as it considers necessary,
any premises in which it has reason to believe that an offence under this
Act has been or is being committed and order in writing to the person who
has committed or who is committing the offence not to extract or use the
ground water without obtaining a permit;
(2) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall apply to any search or seizure under this section in the same way as it applies to any search or seizure made under the authority of a warrant issued under section 94 of the said Code.
(3) The power conferred under clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall include the power to break open the door of any premises where such sinking, extraction or use of groundwater is going on:
Provided that such power to break open the door shall be exercised only if the owner or the person in occupation of the property refused to comply with the notice or directions of the authority on being called upon to do so.
18. Every order or notice under sub-section (1) of section 17 shall be served,--
(a) by tendering such order or notice either through messenger or sending by registered post to the person for whom it is intended, or
(b) if such person cannot be found, by affixing such order or notice on some conspicuous part of his last known place of residence or of business or tendering such order or notice to some adult member or servant of his family or by causing it to be affixed on some conspicuous part of the land or building in which the well is being sunk.
(c) Where the person on whom
an order or a notice is to be sered happens to be a minor, service upon
his guardian in the manner provided in clause (a) and (b) shall be deemed
to be service upon the minor.
19. The Authority may, by general or special order in writing, direct that all are any of the powers or duties which may be exercised or discharged by it shall, in such circumstances or conditions as may be specified in its order, be exercised or discharged by any employee of the Authority as specified in this behalf in the order.
20. (1) Any person
aggrieved by any order or decision of the Authority or an employee referred
to in section 19 may file an appeal to the Government within a period
of thirty days from the date on which such order or decision is communicated
to him.
(2) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Government
shall, after examining the case and after giving the petitioner an opportunity
of being heard, pass such order as they may
deem fit.
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