Groundwater depletion in Ghaziabad: Committee files report
Joint committees have been constituted to find out hotels, marriage/banquet halls, resorts, guest houses in Lucknow, Agra, Meerut, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bareilly, Varanasi, Jhansi and Gorakhpur abstracting groundwater without NOC from the competent authority.
This was stated in the action taken report on behalf of the Central Ground Water Authority in compliance to the National Green Tribunal order, February 25, 2022.
The matter related to the condition of groundwater in district Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. An application was filed before the NGT that groundwater is depleting very rapidly, particularly on account of illegal and unauthorized abstraction by various hotels, marriage halls, party lawns located in district Ghaziabad.
A meeting was called, April 4, 2022 with the representatives from Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Minor Irrigation Department (Ghaziabad) and Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to decide on the modalities regarding re-inspection of hotel units and further necessary action.
After re-inspection and re-verification remedial actions to be taken against defaulting units which are abstracting groundwater without valid NOC were provided to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad.
Several reminder letters have been sent to DM, Ghaziabad to take remedial action on priority, but "no communication has been received till date".