All domestic and commercial wells in Delhi will have to be equipped with water meters and users will be charged a fee based on the amount of groundwater they extract under the new well policy formulated by the Delhi government, officials in the know said on Friday. The proposed policy will also provide a mechanism to regulate the thousands of unlicensed wells currently operating across the capital.
Officials said a draft has been prepared, although the government has not finalized the tariff for groundwater extraction.
A senior government official said the policy seeks to go beyond the current system of one-time approvals by introducing continuous monitoring and user charges linked to actual groundwater consumption.
“There are provisions from the Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) regarding environmental compensation for illegal wells, but there is no tariff for legal groundwater extraction. We have sought inputs from the Central Groundwater Board and the Ministry of Environment on the pricing framework. Under the new system, every well connection will be metered and consumers will pay according to the amount of groundwater extracted. The policy will also provide a pathway for regulation of unauthorized wells,” the official said.
Last year, officials told the National Green Tribunal that 15,962 illegal wells had been closed in the city. But officials acknowledged that the real number of illegal wells is much higher. “It is very difficult to identify illegal wells as most of them are located inside homes. The real number could be in the hundreds of thousands,” the official said. “We are about to start a house-to-house survey to check water connections and are thinking whether it is also possible to collect details related to the wells as part of the survey.”
A DJB spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment by print.
At present, it is prohibited to install a well without prior approval. Applications are scrutinized by district level advisory committees comprising officials from Delhi Jal Board (DJB), district administration, CGWB and other agencies. The committees examine the availability of groundwater and generally grant permissions only in areas where groundwater levels are not classified as critical.
Another DJB official said applicants currently pay only a one-time processing fee $500, after which there is no monitoring of the amount of groundwater extracted. “The new policy seeks to address this gap by introducing mandatory meters and recurring user charges, similar to water bills,” the official said.
The draft policy has been shared with the CGWB under the Union Jal Shakti Ministry for consultation, especially on fixing groundwater usage charges, officials said.
Currently, environmental compensation for illegal groundwater extraction is calculated using a formula based on the volume of water extracted daily, the duration of extraction, site-specific compensation rates, and the deterrence factor. Extracting groundwater for eight hours a day over a year in a critical area could result in fines of about $1,000, officials said. $9.5 lakh.
“The idea is to simplify permissions for real users, especially in areas where piped water supply remains difficult, while ensuring monitoring and regulation of groundwater extraction,” another official said.
