The Kerala Ground Water (Control and Regulation) Act (2002) As per this Act, the Government may, if satisfied on the recommendation of the Authority, that it is necessary in the public interest to regulate the extraction of use of groundwater of any area, declare by notification, such area as notified.
The act also provides details of grant of permits to extract and use groundwater. Any person desiring to dig a well or to convert the existing well into pumping well, for his/her own or social purpose in the notified area, shall submit an application before the Authority for the grant of a permit for the purpose and shall not proceed with any activity connected with such digging or conversion unless a permit has been granted by the Authority.
In granting or refusing the permit the Authority shall consider the following matters, namely:-
- the purpose or purposes for which the water is used;
- the other existing users of that locality
- the availability of ground water of that area;
- the quality of ground water in connection with its use;
- the distance of the proposed well with the adjoining well and the number of wells in the area and the chance of interference with existing wells;
- chances of ground water pollution;
- the long term nature of ground water level in the area
- any other factors relevant thereto
Regarding the registration of the existing wells of the notified area every owner of the existing wells of the notified area in the State shall, within a period of one hundred and twenty days from the date of constitution of the Authority, register the wells existing and in use and shall apply to the Authority.