Background
Consolidated Guidelines to Regulate and Control Groundwater Extraction in India have been issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) through Notification S.O. 3289(E) dated 24 September 2020, as subsequently amended by Notification S.O. 1509(E) dated 29 March 2023. These Guidelines, issued under the powers of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, consolidate and replace earlier regulatory instruments governing groundwater extraction and establish a comprehensive, digitally-administered framework for the sustainable management of groundwater resources across India.
Guidelines introduce a No Objection Certificate (NOC) regime for all commercial groundwater extractors — including industries, mining projects, and infrastructure projects — operated through CGWA’s web portal. Key features of the framework include: mandatory digital water flow metering with telemetry; biennial water audits for industries abstracting above 100 m³/day; groundwater level monitoring through piezometers with DWLR and telemetry; annual groundwater quality testing by NABL-accredited laboratories; groundwater abstraction and restoration charges based on aquifer stress levels; mandatory rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge; prohibition on wastewater injection into aquifers; GPS-based monitoring of bulk water tankers; and online self-compliance reporting against all NOC conditions. The 2023 amendment further refined the charge structure, monitoring obligations, and penalty provisions.
Applicability
Consolidated MoJS Groundwater Extraction Guidelines apply to all persons, entities, and project proponents in India engaged in the commercial or non-domestic extraction of groundwater, including: all new and existing industries and MSMEs (subject to water audit, metering, piezometer, and abstraction charge obligations); infrastructure projects such as real estate developers, group housing societies, residential apartments, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions, and commercial complexes; mining projects; bulk water suppliers operating tankers; and entities abstracting saline groundwater. Exemptions under Section 1.0 apply to: individual households abstracting groundwater for domestic use; farmers abstracting groundwater for irrigation through wells on agricultural land; government agencies extracting groundwater for drinking water supply; and defence establishments. All entities falling within the regulated categories must register on the CGWA web portal, obtain a valid NOC, and comply with all conditions attached to the NOC throughout its validity period.
Compliance Requirement Under the act in Accordance with the Rules & Regulations:
All new and existing industries, industries seeking expansion, infrastructure projects, and mining projects abstracting groundwater — unless specifically exempted under Section 1.0 of the Guidelines — are required to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) or the concerned State Ground Water Authority before commencing or continuing groundwater extraction. A valid NOC must be in force at all times during the period of groundwater abstraction.
All industries abstracting groundwater in excess of 100 m³/day shall be required to undertake a biennial water audit — once in two years — through certified auditors from agencies approved by CGWA. Such industries shall also be required to reduce their groundwater use by at least 20% over the next three years through appropriate measures including recycling, reuse, rainwater harvesting, and adoption of water-efficient processes.
Industries abstracting groundwater in excess of 100 m³/day shall undergo the mandatory biennial water audit through CGWA-approved certified auditors and submit the audit report to CGWA within three months of the completion of the audit, through the CGWA web portal.
In industrial areas, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) installs piezometers to monitor water levels. In other areas, industries and infrastructure projects drawing more than 100 m³/day from hard rock aquifers, or more than 500 m³/day from alluvial aquifers, must construct observation wells (piezometers) within their premises and install appropriate water level monitoring mechanisms. The minimum distance between the abstraction structure and the piezometer shall be 15 metres for hard rock aquifers and 50 metres for alluvial aquifers, and the depth and aquifer zone tapped in the piezometer shall be the same as that of the pumping well. Water level data must be recorded and submitted monthly to CGWA through the designated portal.
Every project proponent shall adopt rooftop rainwater harvesting and/or artificial recharge structures within the project premises. Industries likely to pollute groundwater — including chemical, pharmaceutical, dyes, pigments, paints, textiles, tannery, pesticides/insecticides, fertilizers, slaughterhouses, explosives, and similar industries — shall store harvested rainwater in surface storage tanks and utilise such stored water within the industry for industrial purposes, rather than directing it to recharge structures where risk of contamination of the aquifer exists.
Injection of treated or untreated wastewater into any aquifer system is strictly prohibited under all circumstances. Project proponents must ensure that their effluent management and disposal systems are designed and operated such that no wastewater — treated or untreated — enters any groundwater aquifer through direct injection or any other means.
All tankers engaged in bulk water supply through groundwater abstraction shall be equipped with GPS-based monitoring systems to enable tracking of their movement and area of operation. The GPS system shall be functional at all times during operation, and records of movement and abstraction activities shall be maintained and made available to authorities on demand.
All industries, mining projects, and infrastructure projects drawing groundwater in safe, semi-critical, and critical assessment units shall pay groundwater abstraction charges based on the quantum of extraction and applicable category, as per the rates set out in Section 5 of the Guidelines. All existing mining and infrastructure projects — as well as existing industries including MSMEs — drawing groundwater in over-exploited assessment units shall pay groundwater restoration charges at the applicable rates. Existing industries, infrastructure projects, or mining projects that have installed or constructed artificial recharge structures shall be eligible for a rebate of 50% in the applicable charges, subject to satisfactory performance and independent verification by the competent authority.
Industries, infrastructure projects, and mining projects abstracting saline groundwater from areas having saline groundwater at all depths — or from saline pockets in otherwise freshwater areas — are exempt from payment of groundwater abstraction charges. Such abstraction shall be carried out in accordance with the Guidelines for Saline Ground Water Abstraction issued and updated by CGWA from time to time.
Units abstracting saline groundwater shall adopt appropriate measures for effluent management and disposal to protect water bodies and groundwater aquifers from contamination and pollution. All effluents generated during saline groundwater abstraction and desalination/treatment processes shall be managed and disposed of in a manner that prevents any adverse impact on freshwater aquifers, surface water bodies, and the surrounding environment.
Projects falling within 500 metres from the periphery of demarcated wetlandareas shall, before commencing groundwater abstraction, submit a detailed proposal to CGWA establishing that the proposed abstraction will not impact the hydrology, water availability, or ecological integrity of the protected wetland area. The proposal shall include hydrogeological data, groundwater modelling results, or other scientific evidence demonstrating the absence of adverse impact on the wetland.
Installation of tamper-proof digital water flow meters or pre-paid meters — conforming to BIS/IS standards — with a telemetry system in the abstraction structure(s) is mandatory for all users seeking or holding a NoObjection Certificate. Intimation regarding installation shall be communicated to CGWA within 30 days of the grant of the NOC through the CGWA web portal. Where groundwater extraction is from multiple borewell/tubewells within the same premises, tamper-proof digital flow meters with telemetry may be installed at common outlet points. Installation of digital water flow meters (conforming to BIS/IS standards) is also mandatory for all residential apartments and group housing societies.
All NOC holders must get their digital water flow meters calibrated by an authorised agency approved by CGWA at least once every year. The calibration certificate issued by the authorised agency shall be submitted to CGWA through the designated web portal and shall be maintained at the project premises for inspection.
Project proponents shall monitor the quality of groundwater from their abstraction structures at least once a year. Water samples from borewells, tubewells, or dug wells shall be collected during April/May of every year and analysed in NAL-accredited laboratories for basic parameters (cations and anions), heavy metals, pesticides/organic compounds, and other prescribed parameters as set out in Annexure II of the Guidelines. Groundwater quality data shall be uploaded on the CGWA web portal.
If an existing well becomes defunct due to mechanical failure within the validity period of the NOC, the user may construct a replacement well under intimation to CGWA through the web portal. The defunct well shall be properly sealed as per Annexure VII of the Guidelines, and documentary proof shall be submitted. Where the existing abstraction structure fails to yield water and the project proponent desires to drill another tubewell in the same premises, prior permission of CGWA shall be required. If the replacement well is to be drilled at a different location, a fresh NOC must be obtained.
Self-compliance ith the conditions laid down in the No Objection Certificate shall be reported by the users online through the web portal of the Central Ground Water Authority or the concerned State Ground Water Authority. This self-reporting obligation covers all conditions attached to the NOC — including those relating to metering, water audit, piezometer installation, quality monitoring, rainwater harvesting, effluent management, and abstraction charges — and must be completed within the timelines prescribed by CGWA.
Sale of groundwater by any person or agency that does not hold a valid No Objection Certificate from CGWA or he concerned State Ground Water Authority is not permitted. Any commercial sale of groundwater must be covered by a valid NOC authorising such abstraction, and the quantity sold shall not exceed the quantity specified in the NOC.
Infrastructure projects shall ensure that paved and parking areas are designed with interlocking/perforated tiles or other permeable surfaces and equivalent measures to promote groundwater infiltration and facilitate rainwater harvesting. The design and construction of such areas shall be carrie out in a manner that maximises natural recharge of groundwater from rainfall and surface runoff.
Infrastructure projects shall establish and implement a dual water supply system — one for potable uses requiring treated/quality water and another for non-potable uses such as flushing, horticulture, cooling, and other inustrial purposes — to optimise water resource utilisation and reduce dependence on groundwater for non-potable purposes. Compliance with this requirement shall be reported through the designated web portal of CGWA or the competent authority.
All groundwater abstraction structures — including borewells, tubewells, and open wells used for groundwater extraction — shall be located within the oundaries of the project property and shall not be situated outside the approved project premises. Project proponents shall ensure that no additional abstraction structures are constructed outside the project premises and shall report details of all abstraction structures to CGWA through the web portal.
Project proponents withdrawing more than 100 m³/day from hard rock aquifers or more than 500 m³/day from alluvial aquifers in non-industrial areas shall mandatorily construct piezometers within the project premises for onitoring groundwater levels. Piezometers shall be installed at a minimum distance of 15 metres from the pumping well in hard rock aquifers and 50 metres in alluvial aquifers. The depth and aquifer zone of the piezometer shall be the same as the pumping well. Where multiple aquifers are tapped through wells of different depths, separate piezometers shall be installed for each aquifer.
One piezometer equipped with a Digital Water Level Recorder (DWLR) and telemetry system shall be mandatorily installed where groundwater withdrawal exceeds 100 m³/day from hard rock aquifers or 500 m³/day from alluvial aquifers in non-industrial areas. The DWLR and telemetry shall enable continuous, automated, and remote monitoring of groundwater levels and transmission of data to CGWA’s designated system in real time or at prescribed intervals.
Project proponents shall regularly monitor groundwater levels through installed piezometers and submit groundwater level monitoring data toCGWA or the competent authority through the prescribed reporting system. Data submissions shall be timely, accurate, and in the prescribed format, enabling CGWA to track the impact of groundwater abstraction on aquifer levels over time..
Groundwater level measurements from piezometers shall be taken only after pumping from surrounding tubeells has been stopped for approximately four to six hours, to ensure that accurate, undisturbed groundwater level readings are obtained for monitoring purposes. This rest period is necessary to allow the aquifer to recover from the effects of pumping before measurement, so that static water level data rather than drawdown data is recorded.
A permanent display board shall be installed at each piezometer or tubewell location, indicating the location, identification number, depth, and aquife or zone tapped by the structure. The display board shall be clearly visible and durably constructed to serve as a standard reference and identification marker for survey, inspection, and monitoring purposes.
Penalty & Consequences
The following penalty provisions apply across the compliance obligations covered in this blog. These have been consolidated and de-duplicated for ease of reference:
Section 15 of the Guidelines — Environmental Compensation for Groundwatr Extraction without Valid NOC
Extraction of groundwater for commercial use by industries, infrastructure units, and mining projects without a valid No Objection Certificate from the appropriate authority shall be considered illegal. Such entities shall be liable to pay Environmental Compensation for the quantum of groundwater so extracted, calculated at the rates prescribed by CGWA. Penalty shall also be imposed for non-compliance with NOC conditions issued by the appropriate authority, at rates specified in Table 16.1 of the Guidelines
Section 16 of the Guidelines — Penalty for Non-Submission of Self-Compliance Report
Failure to submit the self-compliance report on the CGWA or State Ground Water Authority web portal as required shall attract a penalty of ₹1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh).
Section 16.1 of the Guidelines — Penalty for Non-Installation or Faulty Digital Water Flow Meter with Telemetry
Non-installation of a tamper-proof digital water flow meter with telemetry, or installation of a faulty meter, shall attract a penalty of ₹2,00,000 (Rupees Two Lakh).
Section 16.1.2 of the Guidelines — Penalty for Non-Disclosure or Unauthorised Construction of Additional Groundwater Abstraction Structures
Penalty for non-disclosure or unauthorised construction of additional groundwater abstraction structures: (a) Functional or non-functional structures — ₹2,00,000 (Rupees Two Lakh) per structure; (b) Defunct or abandoned structures — ₹1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh) per structure. These rates are per unit non-functional/defunct/abandoned structure and shall be multiplied by the total number of such structures to arrive at the consolidated penalty amount.
Section 16.1.4 of the Guidelines — Penalty for Non-Installation of Piezometer
Non-installation of mandatory piezometers for groundwater level monitoring shall attract a penalty of ₹2,00,000 (Rupees Two Lakh).
Annexure VII of the Guidelines — Prosecution by District Collector for Non-Compliance with Supreme Court Guidelines
In cases of non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines on groundwater extraction — including failure to seal defunct wells, unauthorised abstraction, and other serious violations — prosecution may be initiated by the District Collector as prescribed in Annexure VII of the Guidelines. No further extension shall be available after the two-year extended NOC period expires; the project proponent must apply afresh for a new NOC.
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