Chandigarh: The Haryana government would establish an authority for conservation, management and regulation of water resources in the state, which till now was being regulated under the guidelines of the Central Ground Water Authority. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet on Friday evening under the chairmanship of Chief Minister M L Khattar, the government said in a statement.
The cabinet also approved to introduce ‘The Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2020’, after an amendment in the previous bill, to ensure effective legal action against gangsters, leaders and members of organised criminal gangs. On establishing the authority, the government said the cabinet accorded approval for draft of Haryana Water Resources Conservation, Management and Regulation Authority Bill, 2020, for conservation, management and regulation of water resources in Haryana.
Until now, the groundwater was being regulated under the guidelines issued by the Central Ground Water Authority. However, entry 17 in the list II of Schedule VII of the Constitution of India inter alia provides that water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power are the state subjects, hence this draft Bill was approved, it said. The Bill has been prepared with the aim to establish an authority for conservation, management and regulation of the water resources in the state including surface water, ground water and treated waste water of Haryana which shall exercise its jurisdiction over the entire State, the statement said.
The uncontrolled and rapid usage of water, in absence of any effective law in the state has resulted in an alarming situation of declining ground water levels along with depletion of surface water in several areas. In order to deal with the situation of serious water crisis and over exploitation of water in the offing, it is an impending necessity to enact an appropriate law to provide for protecting, conserving, controlling and regularizing the usage of water in the State so that the water regimen becomes sustainable both quantitatively and qualitatively, especially in stressed areas, it said. The authority will be constituted and would consist of five members including a chairperson. It would have the powers of the civil court and non-compliance of its orders will be punishable.
The main functions and powers of the authority will be to prepare an Integrated State Water Plan every three years based on water plans prepared for every district. A large number of industries were facing the challenge of obtaining permission from Central Ground Water Authority for a long period even for continuation of existing ground water extraction duly permitted and therefore NGT had imposed fines and penalties on such industries. The Bill will also help expedite permissions in such cases, it said. About the approval to introduce ‘The Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2020’, the statement said in view of the emerging situation of organised crime in Haryana, it has become imperative to introduce a similar legislation in the state which ensures effective legal action against the gangsters, leaders and members of organized criminal gangs.
Special provisions also need to be enacted for forfeiture of the property acquired from proceeds of crimes and to create a provision for special courts and special prosecutors for handling the trials of offences under this Act, it said. Once the Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2020, is introduced in the next state assembly session, the previous bill ‘The Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2019’ as earlier approved by the State Legislative Assembly will stand withdrawn.
The State Cabinet considered the proposal of the Home Department to withdraw the 2019 Bill and to introduce the same in amended form. The 2019 Bill had been sent for the Presidential assent. The same was returned with certain observations. As per the observations made by Union Home Ministry and Ministry of Electronics &IT, the state cabinet decided to withdraw the Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2019 and introduce the same in amended form after incorporating the advice. The new draft Bill will be placed in the next Vidhan Sabha session, it said. In another Cabinet decision, the government has decided to redesignate the ‘Department of Housing’ as ‘Department of Housing for All’.
The Cabinet also approved the creation of a new Directorate of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for development and promotion of MSME in Haryana.
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