Groundwater department gets notice

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The excessive utilisation of underground water by English Indian Clays limited (EICL), Veli, could lead the Groundwater Department towards legal tangles. Kerala Lok Ayukta has issued a legal notice against the Groundwater Department demanding explanation for not responding to complaints regarding the extraction of underground water beyond the permissible limits by EICL. The notice has been issued to the Director of Groundwater Department following a complaint filed by a local resident in Veli. The complaint cited that although the matter of groundwater exploitation by EICL was brought to the attention of the Groundwater Department, no actions were initiated against the company. The department has remained mute even to the directive issued from Chief Minister’s public grievance redressal cell to furnish an explanation on the same regard. In December 2010, a complaint was registered at the Chief Minister’s Office pointing out the over-extraction of groundwater by EICL in Veli. Following the complaint, the Groundwater Department was asked to probe into the matter and submit a report. Since the department remained unresponsive, a reminder was also sent. However, no actions were taken.In an inspection conducted at EICL in 2007, it had come under  observation that the company was extracting huge amounts of water,  resulting in severe water shortage in the area. The company was then asked to regulate the water extraction to 80,000 litres per day. It was also directed that any violation of this directive could make the company liable for legal proceedings under the Groundwater Control and Regulation Act, 2002. City Express had earlier reported how the company defied this directive and extracted 10 lakh litres per day instead of the permitted 80,000 litres. It was the latest application filed by the company for the renewal of expired licence that revealed that the company processes 10 lakh litres of water every day.The legal notice has been served on the grounds that the governing body responsible for regulating the use of groundwater has failed in its  official obligations and that it has used its clout as a government body to protect the interests of a private company.