Bengaluru: Alarmed by the plummeting groundwater table across Bengaluru for the third consecutive year and a red alert sounded by IISc scientists a few weeks ago, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has banned drilling of borewells in the city.
While the imminent harsh summer prompted the utility to impose a ban on digging borewells, BWSSB clarified it would continue to regulate borewell digging during the rest of the year too, considering the steep fall in the groundwater table of the city. Any violation will be dealt with strict legal action by the state govt.
The BWSSB receives applications throughout the year seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) for drilling borewells, and the experts’ committee has stopped accepting applications from last week. BWSSB chairperson Ram Prasath Manohar told TOI the ban decision was taken due to two reasons: Limited recharge despite humongous extraction; IISc report on critical-condition scenario in the city’s 80 wards.
“There is enough Cauvery water to supply to areas with critical groundwater tables, besides our functioning borewells,” Manohar said.
A senior BWSSB engineer said that in 2024, despite the ban on digging borewells, BWSSB had to give permission as the Cauvery 5th stage was yet to be operational. “In the absence of Cauvery, there was no alternative. The scenario has changed now with Cauvery water readily available, and we (BWSSB) are not permitting any borewells now.”
However, Manohar clarified that in exceptional cases with requests from govt agencies, they will thoroughly verify the proposals before giving permission to dig borewells.
BOX
* BWSSB receives 200-300 applications a month for permission to dig borewells; numbers breach 1,000 in summer
* Year 2024 saw 2,835 applications, and 1,634 during three summer months
* Of them, 1,273 got approval, 600 of them during summer
* In 2025, 600 applications came, 30 cleared
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