National Green Tribunal
Haider Ali vs The Director Manglam Bdl on 6 November, 2024
Item No. 2
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
CENTRAL ZONE BENCH, BHOPAL
(Through Video Conferencing)
Original Application No.175/2024(CZ)
Haider Ali Applicant (s)
Vs.
The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.. Respondent(s)
Date of Hearing: 06.11.2024
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHEO KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. AFROZ AHMAD, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant (s): Mr. Ali Md. Maaz, Adv.
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Shivansh Soni, Adv.
Ms. Vanshika Dubey, Adv. and
Mr. Vaibhav Thakuria, Adv.
Mr. Gigi George, Adv.
ORDER
1. Issue raised in this application is extraction of groundwater without permission from the Competent Authority and No Objection Certificate from the Central Ground Water Board/Authority by the Respondent No. 1.
2. The area comes under the 'Notified Area' of CGWA and as per Section 13 of the Gazette Notification dated 24.09.2020 District Magistrate/District Collector/Sub-Divisional Magistrates of each Revenue District/Sub-Division as authorized officers, had been delegated the power to seal illegal wells, disconnect electricity supply to the energized well, launch prosecution against offenders etc. including grievance redressal related to illegal extraction of groundwater through borewell/tubewell.
1O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
3. The matter was taken up by this Tribunal and a committee was constituted with directions to submit the factual and action taken report. In compliance thereof the members of the committee visited the site and submitted the report as follows :
Observations: - Joint team visited M/s Manglam Residency and Manglam City in Alwar and Manglam Rambhag, Behror on 20.09.2024 to verify the contents/ grounds raised by the applicant. During inspection, Mr Devendra Singh, Sr Manager Sales & Marketing was present as representative of Manglam BDL.
During the site visit the joint committee; it is observed that 03 borewells were established within the Manglam Residency, Alwar. Out of 03 Borewells, 02 BWs are operational and 01 BW is closed.
A sewage treatment plant of 200 KLD was found installed in the premises of Mangalam Residency, which was found non- operational and was discharging untreated waste water into nearby fields. Action initiated to impose Environmental Compensation for the non-compliances under Water Act, 1974 by RSPCB.
In Manglam City, it is observed that 01 borewell were established within their premises.
The unit has sewage line connection of Municipal Corporation, Alwar for treatment of sewage of residential project Manglam City through Municipal Common Sewage Treatment Plant. During the inspection, the representative of the unit was advised to install a sewage treatment plant and also advised to recycle/reuse the treated water within the premises. Copy of permission letter of Municipal Corporation, Alwar dated 15.05.2024 has been enclosed.
2O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
In Manglam Rambhag, Behror, it is observed that 01 borewell were established within their premises and project is under development.
Manglam Rambagh Housing Project, Neemrana was in development stage, 3 houses were living there and construction work of about 8 houses was going on. During inspection, sewage was being disposed through septic tank and soak pit, found adequate. The representative of the unit was advised to install a sewage treatment plant of adequate capacity, looking to future expansion.
Besides above, the details of action taken / correspondence made by CGWA in the matter are as follows -
1. As per the records of the CGWA, The units named as, Manglam Residency and Manglam City located in Alwar district, not having valid NOC from CGWA for ground water abstraction.
2. M/s. Manglam Rambhag, Behror Village - Hamjapur, Behror, Alwar applied for groundwater NOC to CGWA vide Application No. 21-4/19738/RJ/INF/2024 for Ground Water withdrawal under the residential plotted colony category.
3. A Show Cause Notice via सीजीडब्ल्यूए/डब्ल्यूआर/काराणबताओनोटिस/2024-456, dated 10.09.2024 was issued against the Manglam's Rambhag, Main NH-8, Village - Dughera, Near Hira gate, Neemrana, Alwar, Rajasthan for extracting Ground Water without valid NOC. No reply / correspondence were made by the firm against the Notice to the CGWA.
4. A Show Cause Notice via सीजीडब्ल्यूए/डब्ल्यूआर/काराणबताओनोटिस/2024-454, dated 10.09.2024 was issued against the Manglam City, 200 Ft Road, Alwar, Rajasthan for extracting Ground Water without valid NOC. No reply / correspondence were made by the firm against the Notice to the CGWA.
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5. A Show Cause Notice via सीजीडब्ल्यूए/डब्ल्यूआर/काराणबताओनोटिस/2024-455, dated 10.09.2024 was issued against the Manglam Residency, RJ SH-25, Roopbas, Alwar, Rajasthan for extracting Ground Water without valid NOC. No reply / correspondence were made by the firm against the Notice to the CGWA.
6. A Show Cause Notice via सीजीडब्ल्यूए/डब्ल्यूआर/काराणबताओनोटिस/2024-453, dated 10.09.2024 was issued against the Manglam BDL, 6th Floor, Apex mall, Lal Khoti, Tonk Road, Jaipur Rajasthan for extracting Ground Water without valid NOC. No reply / correspondence were made by the firm against the Notice to the CGWA. The copy of the Show Cause Notice is enclosed as Annexure-10.
7. Provision of Compensation and Penalization: As per Ministry of Jal Shakti, CGWA guidelines via S.O. 3289 (E) dated 24.09.2020 and amendment notification dated 29.03.2023. That Extraction of ground water for commercial use by industries, infrastructure units and mining projects without a valid No Objection Certificate from appropriate authority shall be considered illegal and such entities shall be liable to pay Environmental Compensation for the quantum of ground water so extracted and suitable penalties applicable for non- compliance of CGWA guidelines.
8. That as per Section 13.0 of Notified MoJS guidelines issued on 24.09.2020 vide (S.O.3289(E), Central Ground Water Authority has appointed the District Magistrate/District Collector/Sub Divisional Magistrates of each Revenue District/Sub Division as authorized officers, who have been delegated the power to seal illegal wells, disconnect electricity supply to the energized well, launch prosecution against offenders etc. including grievance redressed platform related to ground water in their respective jurisdictions.
Action Taken/ Proposed by Joint Committee: -
4O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
1. As the M/s Manglam Residency falls under the category of group housing project, M/s Manglam City and M/s. Manglam Rambhag, Behror falls in the category of residential township project and these units withdrawing ground water without NOC from CGWA, therefore the Central Ground Water Authority, Jaipur in coordination with district administration, Alwar may initiate action for sealing illegal wells, launch prosecution against offenders in accordance with law and impose the environmental compensation on all three site of M/s. Ansal Township, Alwar after assessing the exact quantity of ground water consumption per day etc.
2. Rajasthan State Pollution Control board shall impose environmental compensation on the basis of 'polluter pay principle' for the non-compliances of Water Act, 1974.
4. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Central Ground Water Authority vide notification dated 24.09.2020 issued notification to regulate the extraction of the ground water by way of issuing of No Objection Certificate for ground water extraction to industries or infrastructure projects or mining projects and framed guidelines, where ground water development is not being regulated by the State Authorities. The regulation provides exemption, registration and installation of Sewage Treatment Plant etc. which is extracted below :
1.1 Registration of Drilling Rigs State / Ut Governments shall be responsible for registering drilling rigs operating within their jurisdiction and for maintaining the database of wells drilled by them. Appropriate link shall be provided in CGWA portal for making the data available to CGWA.
2.0 Drinking & Domestic use for Residential apartments/ Group Housing Societies/ Government water supply agencies in urban areas 5 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
For grant of No Objection Certificate for ground water extraction, the project proponent has to furnish the details as per the guidelines issued by the CGWA in proper format as available in CGWA website. No Objection Certificate for new /existing wells shall be granted only in such cases where the local Government water supply agency is unable to supply requisite amount of water in the area.
No Objection Certificate shall be granted subject to the following specific conditions:
i) Installation of Sewage Treatment Plants shall be mandatory for all residential apartments/ Group Housing Societies where ground water requirement is more than 20 m3 /day. The water from Sewage Treatment Plants shall be utilized for toilet flushing, car washing, gardening etc.
ii) The No Objection Certificate shall be valid for a period of five years from the date of issue or till such time local Government water supply is provided to the project area, whichever is earlier. In case the project proponent receives water supply from the concerned local Government Water Supply Agency during the validity of the No Objection Certificate, intimation regarding availability of public water supply shall be sent by the project proponent to CGWA and No Objection Certificate will be cancelled by the Authority. In other cases, the project proponent will apply for renewal of No Objection Certificate, ninety days before the expiry of No Objection Certificate.
iii) Proponents shall be liable to pay ground water abstraction charges for the quantum of ground water proposed to be extracted, as per rates mentioned in Table 5.1. List it on 23rd December, 2024.
4.0 Commercial Use No new major industries shall be granted No Objection Certificate in over-exploited assessment areas except as per the policy guidelines. Availability of ground water resources shall be given due regard while considering applications for grant of No Objection Certificate for commercial use. Commercial entities extracting ground water shall be required to submit online 6 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
annual water audit report including an audit of water use as mentioned in the relevant sections. CGWA/ State Ground Water Authority (SGWA) shall publish all such audit reports online. CGWA/ SGWAs shall engage independent agencies to verify the compliance of No Objection Certificate conditions periodically.
4.1 Industrial Use In Over-exploited assessment units, No Objection Certificate shall not be granted for ground water abstraction to any new industry except those falling in the category of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). However, No Objection Certificate for drinking/ domestic use for work force, green belt use by these new industries shall be permitted. Expansion of existing industries involving increase in quantum of ground water abstraction in over-exploited assessment units shall not be permitted. No Objection Certificate shall not be granted to new packaged water industries in Overexploited areas, even if they belong to MSME category.
No Objection Certificate for ground water extraction by industries shall be granted subject to the following specific conditions:
i) No Objection Certificate shall be granted only in such cases where local government water supply agencies are not able to supply the desired quantity of water.
ii) All industries shall be required to adopt latest water efficient technologies so as to reduce dependence on ground water resources.
iii) All industries abstracting ground water in excess of 100 m 3 /d shall be required to undertake annual water audit through Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)/ Federation Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)/ National Productivity Council (NPC) certified auditors and submit audit reports within three months of completion of the same to CGWA. All such industries shall be required to reduce their ground water use by at 7 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
least 20% over the next three years through appropriate means.
iv) Construction of observation well(s) (piezometer)(s) within the premises and installation of appropriate water level monitoring mechanism as mentioned in Section 15 shall be mandatory for industries drawing/ proposing to draw more than 10 m3 /day of ground water and. Monitoring of water level shall be done by the project proponent. The piezometer (observation well) shall be constructed at a minimum distance of 15 m from the bore well/production well. Depth and aquifer zone tapped in the piezometer shall be the same as that of the pumping well/ wells. Detailed guidelines for design and construction of piezometers are given in Annexure II. Monthly water level data shall be submitted to the CGWA through the web portal.
v) The proponent shall be required to adopt roof top rain water harvesting/ recharge in the project premises. Industries which are likely to pollute ground water (chemical, pharmaceutical, dyes, pigments, paints, textiles, tannery, pesticides/ insecticides, fertilizers, slaughter house, explosives etc.) shall store the harvested rain water in surface storage tanks for use in the industry.
vi) Injection of treated/ untreated waste water into aquifer system is strictly prohibited.
vii) Industries which are likely to cause ground water pollution e.g. Tanning, Slaughter Houses, Dye, Chemical/ Petrochemical, Coal washeries, other hazardous units etc. (as per CPCB list) need to undertake necessary well head protection measures to ensure prevention of ground water pollution (Annexure III).
viii) All industries drawing ground water in safe, semi-critical and critical assessment units shall be required to pay ground water abstraction charges as applicable as per Tables 5.2 A and 5.3 A. 8 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
ix) All existing industries drawing ground water in over-
exploited assessment units shall be liable to pay ground water restoration charges as applicable as per Tables 5.2 B and 5.3 B. Documents to be submitted with the application
(a) An affidavit on non judicial stamp paper of Rs. 10/- regarding non availability of water supply from local government agencies in cases where ground water requirement is up to 10 m3 /day.
(b) Certificate regarding non/ partial availability of fresh water/ treated waste water supply from the local government water supply agency in cases where requirement of ground water is more than 10 m 3 /day.
(c) Ground water quality data of existing bore well/ tube well/ dug well from any NABL accredited laboratory or Govt. approved laboratory (in case of existing projects applying for No Objection Certificate)
(d) Water quality data of bore well/ tube well/ dug well in respect of existing industries from NABL accredited laboratories/Government approved laboratories.
(e) Proposal for rain water harvesting/ recharge within the premises as per Model Building Bye Laws issued by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
(f) Impact Assessment report: All projects extracting/proposing to extract ground water in excess of 100 m3 /day in Over-exploited, Critical and Semi-critical areas shall have to mandatorily submit impact assessment report of existing/ proposed ground water withdrawal on the ground water regime and also socio- economic impacts report prepared by accredited consultants. Pro-forma for the report is given in Annexure IV.
10.0 Monitoring of compliance of No Objection Certificate Conditions 9 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
To monitor the compliance of No Objection Certificate conditions, Central Ground Water Authority and State/ UT Ground Water Authorities shall take the following steps:
a. Suitable MIS will be developed for compliance monitoring.
b. District Collectors/Deputy Commissioners (DCs) /District Magistrates (DMs) are authorized to take enforcement measures like sealing of unauthorized ground water abstraction structures, disconnection of electricity, launching of prosecution against those violating the No Objection Certificate conditions and taking action for imposition of Environmental Compensation.
c. Technical officers of CGWB/ CGWA and State groundwater organizations are authorized to take actions with respect to monitoring and periodic inspections with the approval of competent authority.
d. In case of violation of any of the No Objection Certificate conditions, the proponents shall be liable to pay the penalties as per Section 16.
11.0 Renewal of No Objection Certificate No objection certificate shall be renewed periodically, subject to the compliance of the conditions mentioned therein:
i. The applicant shall apply for renewal of No Objection Certificate at least ninety days prior to expiry of its validity.
ii. Application for renewal of No Objection Certificate shall be accompanied by the Compliance Report.
iii. Before granting renewal, Central Ground Water Authority or State/ Ut Authority shall satisfy itself that the conditions of No Objection Certificate have been complied with.10
O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
iv. In case of change in category of the assessment unit, renewals would be granted with conditions as laid down for new category.
v. No Objection Certificate will be renewed for the terms specified for various uses as follows:
Category Use Term of
renewal
Critical, Infrastructure projects for 5 years
drinking & domestic use and
Semi- urban Water Supply Agencies
critical
Industries 3 years
and
Mines 2 years
safe
Over All users in 'Over-exploited 2 years
exploited areas'
vi. If the application for renewal is submitted in time
and the CGWA/ the respective State/ Ut Authority is unable to process the application in time, No Objection Certificate shall be deemed to be extended till the date of renewal of No Objection Certificate.
vii. If the proponent fails to apply for renewal within 3 months from the date of expiry of No Objection Certificate, the proponent shall be liable to pay Environmental Compensation for the period starting from the date of expiry of No Objection Certificate till No Objection Certificate is renewed by the competent authority.
12.0 Extension of No Objection Certificate If the proponent is unable to construct the well(s) during the validity period of No Objection Certificate for genuine reasons, the proponent will have to apply for extension of No Objection Certificate. Application for extension should be supported by documents justifying the reasons for delay. Other conditions for grant of extension of No 11 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
Objection Certificate will be the same as that for fresh No Objection Certificate.
Extension of No Objection Certificate will be granted for a maximum period of two years. No further extension will be granted after the expiry of the extended period. In that case, the applicant will have to apply afresh for grant of No Objection Certificate 13.0 Delegation of powers against illegal groundwater withdrawal Central Ground Water Authority has appointed the District Magistrate/ District Collector/ Sub Divisional Magistrates of each Revenue District/Sub division as Authorized Officers, who have been delegated the power to seal illegal wells, disconnect electricity supply to the energised well, launch prosecution against offenders etc. including grievance redressal related to ground water in their respective jurisdictions.
In order to further decentralise and strengthen the monitoring and compliance mechanism as per the guidelines, officials of concerned Departments of Revenue and Industries of the States/Uts shall be appointed as Authorised Officers in consultation with the State/Ut Governments.
A copy of the No Objection Certificate issued by the CGWA in the No Objection Certificate Application Portal (NOCAP) will be forwarded to the respective District Magistrate/ District Collector. In case of any violation of the directions of Central Ground Water Authority and non-fulfilment of the conditions laid down in the No Objection Certificate, the Authorised Officers will file appropriate Petition/Original Application etc under sections 15 to 21 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 in appropriate Courts.
15.0 Environmental Compensation 12 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
Extraction of ground water for commercial use by industries, infrastructure units and mining projects without a valid No Objection Certificate from appropriate authority shall be considered illegal and such entities shall be liable to pay Environmental Compensation for the quantum of ground water so extracted. The norms prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shall be utilized for calculating the Environmental compensation as mentioned below:
ECGW = Ground water consumption per day x Environmental Compensation rate (ECRGW) x No. of days x Deterrence factor where ground water consumption is in m3/day and ECRGW in Rs./ cum 15.1 Rates of Environmental Compensation: Rates of Environmental Compensation (ECRGW) for various types of users in different categories of assessment units are given in Table 15.1 to 15.3.
Table 15.1 : ECRGW for Packaged Drinking Water units S. Area Category Water Consumption (cum/day) No. <200 200 to 1000 5000 <1000 to<5000 & above Environmental Compensation Rate (ECRGW) in Rs./m3 1 Safe 12 18 24 30 2 Semi critical 24 36 48 60 3 Critical 36 48 66 90 4 Over- 48 72 96 120 exploited Note :-Minimum ECGW shall not be less than Rs 1,00,000/-
Table 16.1: Penalty provision for non Compliance of No Objection Certificate conditions 13 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.
S. Items Charges in Rs.
No.
1 Non installation/faulty Digital water Flow 200000
meter with telemetry system.
2 Non disclosure/ construction of additional
groundwater abstraction structures
a) Non-functional Structures.
200000
b) Defunct/Abandoned
100000
Note: Given rates are for unit non-
functional/defunct/abandoned
structures. This shall be multiplied with total such structures to arrive at consolidated penalty.
3 Reporting of fresh water zones as Brackish 200000 / Saline zones in application.
4 Non Installation of Piezometer . 200000 5 Non Installation/faulty DWLR/Telemetry 100000 system 6 Non Construction/Inadequate capacity of 500000 Recharge / Water conservation structures. 7 Non maintenance of Recharge structures. 200000 8 Injection of treated/untreated water into 1000000 the aquifer system. Note: In addition to penalty, the proponent shall bear the cost of aquifer remediation as per the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
9 Non Submission of Water level/Water 50000 quality Data.
10 Non-maintenance of log book of daily 50000
withdrawal/non submission of
Groundwater abstraction data.
11 Non submission of photograph of recharge 50000
structure(s).
12 Non Submission of Self Compliance 100000
report.
13 Construction of groundwater abstraction 100000
structures by un authorized/unregistered Drilling Rigs (per structures).
14 Non registration of water supply tankers. 500000 15 Submission of false information/ 100000 undertaking.
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Charges shall also be payable for correction/modification in the existing issued No Objection Certificate letter. The details of such charges are given in Table 16.2.
Table 16.2: Proposed Charges for correction/Modification in the existing issued No Objection Certificate S. Items Charges in Rs.
No. 1 Change in recharge quantum 10000 2 Change in User ID. 5000 3 Change in firm Name 5000 4 Extension of No Objection Certificate 5000 5 Issuance of duplicate No Objection 5000 Certificate 6 Issuance of corrigendum to No Objection 5000 Certificate 7 Any other items/corrections etc 5000
5. As per report the respondent /Project Proponent is withdrawing the ground water without NOC of CGWA. Accordingly, the District Magistrate and State PCB is directed take necessary actions and to immediately stop the extraction of ground water and to take remedial actions in addition to calculation and realisation of environmental compensation according to rules and further action taken report may be filed within three weeks. Respondents are directed to submit their reply within three weeks.
6. Learned Counsel for the respondent has sought a short time to file the reply. Learned Counsel for the State Pollution Control Board has submitted that RSPCB has not been impleaded as party respondent in the application. The applicant is directed to implead the RSPCB as party respondent. Necessary steps be taken within a week.
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Respondent/RSPCB is directed to submit detailed report with regard to requirement of EC and action taken against the extraction of ground water without NOC issued from the Central Ground Water Authority.
List it on 21st January, 2025.
Sheo Kumar Singh, JM Dr. Afroz Ahmad, EM 6th November 2024 O. A. No.175/2024(CZ) K 16 O A No.175/2024(CZ) Haider Ali vs. The Director/Chairman, Mangalam BDL & Ors.