Illegal borewells to be sealed in Dwarka

In a crackdown against the water mafia, the Dwarka tehsildar on Friday inspected several illegal borewells in the area, which draw water enough to fill 300 tankers daily, ahead of a sealing drive on Monday. Nivedita Khandekar reports.

In a crackdown against the water mafia, the Dwarka tehsildar on Friday inspected several illegal borewells in the area, which draw water enough to fill 300 tankers daily, ahead of a sealing drive on Monday.

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The action comes after residents of Dwarka sectors 23 and 24, Pochanpur and Dhulsiras villages filed a complaint against 20 illegal borewells in the area.

Southwest district, which includes Dwarka, and south district of the national Capital are notified areas in terms of precarious groundwater situation since 2000. No borewell is allowed to be dug up in these areas without the government’s permission.

“We have seized generator sets and other materials at seven borewells in the area. They will be sealed on Monday as it takes electrical professionals to seal a running borewell,” said Satish Rawat, tehsildar (Dwarka).

He said more borewells would be inspected and sealed in coming days.

“These borewells run from areas -- covered by vegetation -- around Dwarka sectors 23, 24 and Pochanpur and Dhulsiras villages,” said Diwan Singh of Natural Heritage First, an NGO.

“The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) does not provide water to us and the groundwater level is depleting every year. It is high time to take action against these borewells under the Environment Protection Act 2000,” said Vikram Shubhram, a resident of Pochanpur.