Rajasthan govt sends Bill on groundwater management to Select Committee again amid Opposition concerns

Jaipur, March 19 (IANS) The Rajasthan government on Wednesday took a U-turn on the Bill aimed at regulating groundwater in the state.

The Groundwater Management Authority Bill has been sent back to the Select Committee of the Assembly.

During a debate in the Assembly on Wednesday, State Water Supply Minister Kanhaiya Lal Choudhary proposed referring the Bill to the Select Committee, a motion that was accepted. This is not the first time the bill has been under review.

It was initially sent to the Select Committee in August last year.

In February, the deadline for submitting the committee’s report was extended.

Following the recent submission of the report, the state government had planned to reintroduce the Bill.

However, Opposition MLAs raised concerns over several provisions.

One key point of contention was the mandatory registration of all tubewells and the requirement for machines used to dig them.

Opposition members argued that the state government lacks the necessary resources for such enforcement.

They said that even the Water Supply department has yet to install meters on its connections.

Congress MLAs Hakeem Ali, Rafiq Khan, and Harimohan Sharma criticised the Bill, saying, “The government is attempting to regulate access to water, which has always been freely available. This move will create unnecessary hurdles and increase bureaucratic control.”

With the Bill now back in the Select Committee, further deliberations and modifications are expected before any final decision is made.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Tika Ram Jully, has criticised the Rajasthan Groundwater Conservation and Management Authority Bill in the Assembly, questioning the state government’s intent behind the legislation.

LoP Jully highlighted that Rajasthan receives adequate rainfall, yet the state struggles with water storage, exacerbating the crisis.

He said that pollution is contaminating water sources while the depth of surface water continues to decline, making the situation worse.

Calling the Bill a “betrayal of public interest”, Jully argued that it should be referred for public consultation before implementation.

“Such a law existed earlier as well, and there was already a ban on boring. Now, new provisions have been added, further restricting water access.”

In machining, boring is the process of enlarging a hole that has already been drilled (or cast) by means of a single-point cutting tool (or of a boring head containing several such tools), such as in boring a gun barrel or an engine cylinder.

Jully questioned the state government’s move to ban hand pumps, which are a primary source of water for many households.

“People rely on hand pumps for their daily needs. If you ban them, what alternative will the common man have? This is nothing but dictatorship!”

He said that the previous Congres-led state government had provided exemptions for boring, ensuring better access to water.

The LoP criticised the current Bill’s restrictions, demanding clarity on how the people would cope with the new regulations.

“If this Bill bans boring, what will the public do?”

Jully urged the state government to reconsider the Bill and incorporate feedback from the people before enforcing restrictive water management policies.

A Bill has been also introduced in the Assembly to prevent suicides of coaching students in the state and to control coaching centres.

This Bill will be passed after debate in the current Assembly session.

Rajasthan’s Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Prem Chand Bairwa on Wednesday introduced the Rajasthan Coaching Institute Controlled and Regulation Bill, 2025, in the House.

–IANS

arc/khz