It’s okay to dig borewells in Cantt area sans permit

SCB residents benefit from recent MoD exemptions, allowing borewell use for domestic groundwater extraction without the need for permission or charges

Hyderabad: Residents of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) no longer need permission to dig bore wells, and they will not be charged for groundwater extraction beyond a specified limit.

The Ministry of Defence recently issued a Gazette notification stating that individual domestic consumers are now exempt from seeking permission to dig bore wells. This exemption was introduced after residents of the Cantonment raised objections last year about the requirement to obtain permission for borewell digging.

Last year, the Ministry of Defence drafted a regulation mandating compulsory registration for borewells. As per the regulation, residential borewell extraction exceeding 100 liters per day would incur a charge of Rs 3 per kiloliter. For commercial and industrial borewells extracting more than 50 liters per day, the charge would be Rs 10 per kiloliter. According to SCB officials, following the Ministry of Defence's directive, exemptions have been made for certain categories. This includes individual domestic consumers in both rural and urban areas for drinking water and domestic use. The exemption also applies to rural drinking water supply schemes, Armed Forces establishments, Central Armed Police Forces establishments, and agricultural activities in both rural and urban areas.

Emphasising the exemptions, a senior officer stated, “Apart from specific categories, Group Housing Societies, Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs), and residential apartments are also exempt from needing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for groundwater extraction. Additionally, the requirement to install flow meters on borewells does not apply to these exempt categories. Consumers falling under these exemptions are not required to obtain an NOC or install flow meters, and they will not incur charges for drawing borewell water.”

Aside from the exempted categories, such as commercial establishments and those drawing water for commercial purposes, all other entities will be required to register their existing borewells by completing the application form attached with the Gazette, he added.

Meanwhile, some locals stated, “We are pleased that the MoD has addressed our concerns and decided not to collect revenue from residences using groundwater for domestic purposes. This exemption will benefit the citizens of the Cantonment.”