Gandhinagar: Gujarat govt is drafting legislation to regulate groundwater use by treating it as a shared public resource and not private property. The proposed Gujarat Groundwater Bill, 2026, likely to be tabled next month, will prioritise groundwater for drinking, farming and livelihood purposes as water levels continue to decline across the state. The bill will provide for stringent penalties against violators, such as jail or a fine, for those found polluting groundwater or extracting it illegally.Officials said govt plans to set up Gujarat State Groundwater Regulation and Development Authority to oversee groundwater use across the state. “The authority will be responsible for implementing policies aimed at sustainable groundwater use,” a senior official close to the development said.Govt will also be able to declare ecologically fragile areas as groundwater protection zones, where extraction and use will be curbed to keep aquifers from running dry, sources said.Penalties are steep. Polluting groundwater may invite a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Drawing water illegally inside a protection zone may attract up to Rs 10 lakh. “Those found polluting groundwater or extracting it illegally could face imprisonment as well as fines,” a source said. Failing to install a rainwater harvesting system will draw penalties, and offenders may face also face jail.Factories will have to take permission before pumping groundwater, and water charges will be levied on industrial and bulk users. Agriculture has been kept out of this. The revenue collected will go back into water conservation work.The legislation also proposes a decentralised institutional framework by setting up committees at multiple levels, from villages to the state, to monitor and manage groundwater resources. Groundwater security plans will be prepared for every gram panchayat, taluka, municipality, municipal corporation and district to implement local conservation and extraction practices.“Rainwater harvesting and water recycling will be made mandatory. Approval will be granted only after making provision for water harvesting in the building plan,” a source said.
