CHENNAI METROPOLITAN AREA GROUNDWATER (REGULATION) RULES, 19881 CHENNAI METROPOLITAN AREA GROUNDWATER (REGULATION) RULES,
19881 In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section 18 of the
2[Chennai] Metropolitan Area Groundwater (Regulation) Act, 1987 (Tamil Nadu Act 27 of 1987), the Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby makes the following rules:-- (1) These rules may be called the
2[Chennai] Metropolitan Area Groundwater (Regulation) Rules, 1988. In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Act" means the
2[Chennai] Metropolitan Area Groundwater (Regulation) Act, 1987 (Tamil Nadu Act 27 of 1987); (b) "Form" means a Form appended to these rules; (c) "Licence" means a licence for extraction, use or transport of groundwater granted under section 5 of the Act; (d) "Permit" means a permit granted under section 3 of the Act to sink a well. (1) Every application under sub-section (2) of section 3 shall be made in Form-I. (2) A Court-fee stamp for the value of one rupee shall be affixed on every application made under this rule. (3) The decision regarding the grant or refusal to grant of permit for sinking well shall be intimated to the applicant by the competent authority within ninety days from the date of receipt of the application. (4) Every permit for sinking a well shall be in Form-IV. (5) The refusal of grant of permit by the competent authority shall be communicated in Form-VII. (1) Every application under clauses (i) and (ii) of sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Act shall be made in Forms II and III, respectively. (2) A Court-fee stamp for the value of one rupee shall be affixed on every application made under this rule. (3) Whenever the competent authority has decided to grant the licence, it shall send an intimation to that effect to the applicant and inform him to remit the fee specified in the Table below:-- (a) Licence for extraction or use of groundwater for agricultural purpose. 50.00 (b) Licence for extraction or use of groundwater for other purposes-- (i) using pumps with capacity not exceeding 5 horse power; 100.00 (ii) using pumps with capacity exceeding 5 horse power but not exceeding 10 horse power; 500.00 (iii) using pumps with capacity exceeding 10 horse power; 1,000.00 (c) A licence for transport of groundwater by lorry, trailer or any other goods vehicle. 1,000.00 (4) The licence fee specified in sub-rule (3) shall be paid for every financial year or part thereof. (5) The licence fee shall be payable by the applicant into anyone of the branches of the State Bank of India to the credit of the Board and the counterfoil of the challan shall be presented to the competent authority for grant of licence. (6) Every licence for extraction or use of groundwater for any purpose other than domestic purposes shall be in Form-V. (7) Every licence for the transport of groundwater by means of a lorry, trailer or any other goods vehicle shall be in Form-VI. (8) Every licence under sub-rules (6) and (7) shall be valid for the financial year or part thereof. An applicant seeking renewal of the licence shall apply before ninety days of the expiry of the original licence and the provisions of rules applicable to grant of an original licence shall apply to the renewal of the licence. (9) The refusal to grant licence by the competent authority shall be communicated in Form-VIII or IX, as the case may be. (1) The competent authority shall prepare and maintain a register showing the number of existing wells in the scheduled area and the use of groundwater in the scheduled area for agricultural purposes immediately before the 17th June 1987, within ninety days from the date of the publication of these rules in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette. (2) The Register of wells shall be in Form-X. (3) The extract of the Register of wells insofar as the entries relate to any revenue village specified in the schedule to the Act or City of
3[Chennai] shall be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette and displayed in the offices of the respective village administrative officers and in the office of the respective Area Engineers of the Board in the City of
3[Chennai] within thirty days after the expiry of the period specified in sub-rule (1). (4)
(a) Any request by the aggrieved land owner or occupier for non-inclusion in the Register of wells, or the use of groundwater for agricultural purposes in relation to any such land or for modification of the particulars as entered in the Register of wells shall be made to the competent authority in Form-XL.
4[The competent authority shall pass an order in writing within thirty days from the date of receipt of such application from the applicant.] (b) A Court-fee stamp for the value of one rupee shall be affixed on every application made under this rule. (c) The application shall be made to the competent authority within thirty days from the date of the publication of the extracts of the Register of wells in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette: Provided that the competent authority may, if satisfied that any aggrieved land owner or occupier had sufficient cause for not making the application in time, allow a further time of thirty days for making the application. (5) An extract of entries made in the Register of wells shall be furnished to the owner or the occupier of land on application made in Form-XII to the competent authority. A fee of rupees two only shall be payable by the applicant into anyone of the branches of the State Bank of India to the credit of the Board and the counterfoil of the challan shall be presented to the competent authority along with the application in Form-XII. (1) Every building owned or maintained by the Government or a company or other institution owned or controlled by the Government, shall within one year from the 21st day of November 2002,-- (a) provide rooftop rain water harvesting structure wherever a storage tank or an open well or a bore well is available in the building irrespective of the nature of sub-soil conditions; (b) surface run-off water from the open spaces around the buildings, parks and playgrounds shall be harvested using appropriate recharge structures based on the nature of the sub-soil conditions. (i) Roof-top rain water harvesting:-- Direct collection.-- Rain water from the roof of the buildings such as tiled/sloped terrace building and flat/RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) roof shall be collected using appropriate size of gutters or PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipes and stored either in a collection tank or storage tank of appropriate size placed over the ground or underground through a filter unit. A filter chamber of appropriate size shall be provided to filter the dust particles usually present in the roof-tops of the buildings. Suitable filter material such as well-burnt broken bricks or coarse sand or small sized pebbles or blue metal gravels (baby chips) shall be used in the filter chamber. The surplus water available after filling the storage tank/sump shall be diverted to the nearby open well or bore well or recharge pits. Proper disinfection shall be made while storing the water for long use. Recharging the open well/bore well.-- The rain water collected from the roof tops of both tiled/sloped roof and flat/RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) roofs using gutters or PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipes shall be diverted to the open well or bore well through a filter chamber of appropriate size. Regular disinfection methods are to be practised while harvesting rain water in open wells. (ii) Harvesting surface run-off water.-- Apart from the roof-top rain water harvesting, the rain water available in the open spaces around the buildings and in places/buildings where a sump or open well or bore well is not available the rain water shall be harvested and recharged into the ground using appropriate recharge structures based on the nature of the sub-soil conditions as mentioned below: (a) Sandy sub-soil areas.-- In places where the sub-soil formation is sandy in nature the rate of percolation of rain water will be more and therefore provision of shallow recharge structures such as percolation/recharge pits, recharge trenches or shallow recharge wells are considered to be suitable for rain water harvesting. (i) Percolation/recharge pits shall be provided around the buildings with minimum size of 1 metre x 1 metre x 1 metre and filled with permeable medium such as broken bricks or pebbles or coarse sand, etc. The number of these pits shall vary based on the extent of the area of water collection. On an average one unit is required for an area of 250 square feet. These structures are suitable for individual houses in general. (ii) Recharge trenches (Longitudinal in shape) similar to the percolation/recharge pits are suitable for apartment/commercial complexes, where the availability of rain water is more. Two or three of these structures shall be provided on the basis of the extent of the building. (iii) Shallow recharge wells are similar to the common open wells except in size and depth. Normally, for an individual house with 1000 square feet area, a recharge well with 1.0 metre dia and 3.0 metre dia depth is required. For apartments/commercial complexes two or three recharge wells are required based on the extent of the building. Either brick wall or RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) concrete rings shall be used for construction. The top of the recharge well should be covered with RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) slab. Recharge wells are to be desilted once in a year or two for its effective recharge. Rain water collected from the roof tops of buildings and open surfaces shall be diverted to these recharge structures through PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipe line or by providing channels on the ground. These structures shall be maintained properly for effective recharge. (b) Clay sub-soil areas.-- In places where the sub-soil formation is clay in nature the rate of percolation of rain water will be very slow and therefore provision of percolation/recharge pit with bore, recharge trench with bore or deep recharge well are considered to be suitable for rain water harvesting. (i) Percolation/recharge pit with bore.-- It is similar to the one mentioned in sandy sub-soil formation except a bore hole at the bottom of the percolation pit which is also filled with the same permeable materials. A minimum size of 4/4 inch diameter and 15 feet depth is normally required for one pit. However, if sand formation is available below the top clay layer, the bore has to be drilled preferably up to the sand formation. The number of these pits shall vary based on the extent of the area of water collection. On an average one unit is required for an area of 250 square feet. These structures are suitable for individual houses in general. (ii) Recharge Trench with Bore.-- These are similar to the recharge pits but are longitudinal in shape and bore holes shall be provided at the bottom for every 10-15 feet of the trench. The trench and bore hole shall be filled with the same permeable materials such as broken bricks or pebbles or coarse sand, etc. These structures are suitable for apartments/commercial complexes where the availability of rain water is more. (iii) Deep/large recharge wells.-- These are similar to the common open wells except in size and depth and are considered to 'be suitable for apartment/commercial complexes. In general, a recharge well with 1.5 metre dia and 5.0 metre depth is required for a small apartment. Either brick wall or RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) concrete rings shall be used for construction. The top of the recharge well should be covered with RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) slab. The recharge well shall be de-silted once in a year or two for effective recharge. Rain water collected from the rooftops of the buildings and open surfaces shall be diverted to these recharge structures through PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipe line or by providing channels on the ground. These structures should be maintained properly for effective recharge. (c) Hard rock areas (Weathered).-- In hard rock areas also, the rate of percolation of rain water will be slow. Therefore, in order to collect and recharge the rain water it would be preferable to construct recharge wells of appropriate size. Percolation pit with deep bore holes up to a depth of 50-100 feet shall be provided. In this case, the bore hole is to be constructed with slotted pipe for effective recharge. In general, construction of separate recharge structures shall be provided in the absence of existing infrastructure such as storage tank/sump, open well or bore well in order to reduce the cost involved. (2) Every person who constructs a building, whether, for residential or non-residential purpose, shall on or after the 21st day of November 2002,-- (a) provide roof top rain water harvesting structure wherever a storage tank or an open well or a bore well is available in the building irrespective of the nature of sub-soil conditions; (b) surface run-off water from the open spaces around the buildings, parks and playgrounds shall be harvested using appropriate recharge structures based on the nature of the sub-soil conditions. (i) Roof-top rain water harvesting.-- Direct collection.-- Rain water from the roof of the buildings such as tiled/sloped terrace building and fiat/RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) roof shall be collected using appropriate size of gutters or PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipes and. stored either in a collection tank or storage tank of appropriate size placed over the ground or underground through a filter unit. A filter chamber of appropriate size shall be provided to filter the dust particles usually present in the roof-tops of the buildings. Suitable filter material such as well burnt broken bricks or coarse sand or small sized pebbles or blue metal gravels (baby chips) shall be used in the filter chamber. The surplus water available after filling the storage tank/sump shall be diverted to the nearby open well or bore well or recharge pits. Proper disinfection shall be made while storing the water for long use. Recharging the open well/bore well.-- The rain water collected from the roof tops of both tiled/sloped roof and flat/RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) roofs using gutters or PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipes shall be diverted to the open well or bore well through a filter chamber of appropriate size. Regular disinfection methods are to be practised while harvesting rain water in open wells. (ii) Harvesting Surface run-off water.-- Apart from the roof-top rain water harvesting, the rain water available in the open spaces around the buildings and in places/buildings where a sump or open well or bore well is not available the rain water shall be harvested and recharged into the ground using appropriate recharge structure based on the nature of the sub-soil conditions as mentioned below: (a) Sandy sub-soil areas.-- In places where the sub-soil formation is sandy in nature the rate of percolation of rain water will be more and therefore provision of shallow recharge structures such as percolation/recharge pits, recharge trenches or shallow recharge wells are considered to be suitable for rain water harvesting. (i) Percolation/recharge pits shall be provided around the buildings with minimum size of 1 metre x 1 metre x 1 metre and filled with permeable medium such as broken bricks or pebbles or coarse sand, etc. The number of these pits shall vary based on the extent of the area of water collection. On an average one unit is required for an area of 250 square feet. These structures are suitable for individual houses in general. (ii) Recharge trenches (longitudinal in shape) similar to the percolation/recharge pits are suitable for apartment/commercial complexes, where the availability of rain water is more. Two or three of these structures shall be provided on the basis of the extent of the building. (iii) Shallow recharge wells are similar to the common open wells except in size and depth. Normally, for an individual house with 1000 square feet area, a recharge well with 1.0 metre dia and 3.0 metre dia depth is required. For apartments/commercial complexes two or three recharge wells are required based on the extent of the building. Either brick wall or RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) concrete rings shall be used for construction The top of the recharge well should be covered with RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) slab. Recharge wells are to be desilted once in a year or two for its effective recharge. Rain water collected from the rooftops of buildings and open surfaces shall be diverted to these recharge structures through PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipe line or by providing channels on the ground. These structures shall be maintained properly for effective recharge. (b) Clay
sub-soil areas.-- In places where the sub-soil formation is clay in nature the rate of percolation of rain water will be very slow and therefore provision of percolation/recharge pit with bore, recharge trench with bore or deep recharge well are considered to be suitable for rain water harvesting. (i) Percolation/recharge pit with bore.-- It is similar to the one mentioned in sandy sub-soil formation except a bore hole at the bottom of the percolation pit which is also filled with the same permeable materials. A minimum size of 4 1/2 inch diameter and 15 feet depth is normally required for one pit. However, if sand formation is available below the top clay layer, the bore has to be drilled preferably up to the sand formation. The number of these pits shall vary based on the extent of the area of water collection. On an average one unit is required for an area of 250 square feet. These structures are suitable for individual houses in general. (ii) Recharge trench with bore.-- These are similar to the recharge pits but are longitudinal in shape and bore holes shall be provided at the bottom for every 10-15 feet of the trench. The trench and bore hole shall be filled with the same permeable materials such as broken bricks or pebbles or coarse sand, etc. These structures are suitable for apartments/commercial complexes where the availability of rain water is more. (iii) Deep/large recharge wells.-- These are similar to the common open wells except in size and depth and are considered to be suitable for apartment/commercial complexes. In general, a recharge well with 1.5 metre dia and 5.0 metre depth is required for a small apartment. Either brick wall or RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) concrete rings shall be used for construction. The top of the recharge well should be covered with RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) slab. The recharge wells shall be de-silted once in a year or two for effective recharge. Rain water collected from the rooftops of the buildings and open surfaces shall be diverted to these recharge structures through PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipe line or by providing channels on the ground. These structures should be maintained properly for effective recharge. (c)
Hard-rock areas (weathered).-- In hard lock areas also, the rate of percolation of rain water will be slow. Therefore, in order to collect and recharge rain water it would be preferable to construct recharge wells of appropriate size. Percolation pits with deep bore holes up to a depth of 50-100 feet shall be provided. In this case, the bore hole is to be constructed with slotted pipe for effective recharge. In general, construction of separate recharge structures shall be provided in the absence of existing infrastructures such as storage tank/sump, open well or bore well in order to reduce the cost involved. (3) The owner or occupier of any building in existence on the 21st day of November 2002-- (a) provide roof top rain water harvesting structure wherever a storage tank or an open well or a bore well is available in the building irrespective of the nature of sub-soil conditions; (b) surface run-off water from the open spaces around the buildings, parks and playgrounds shall be harvested using appropriate recharge structures based on the nature of the sub-soil conditions. (i) Roof-top rain water
harvesting-- Direct collection.-- Rain water from the roof of the buildings such as tiled/sloped terrace building and flat/RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) roof shall be collected using appropriate size of gutters or PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipes and stored either in a collection tank or storage tank of appropriate size placed over the ground or underground through a filter unit. A filter chamber of appropriate size shall be provided to filter the dust particles usually present in the roof-tops of the buildings. Suitable filter material such as well-burnt broken bricks or coarse sand or small sized pebbles or blue metal gravels (baby chips) shall be used in the filter chamber. The surplus water available after filling the storage tank/sump shall be diverted to the nearby open well or bore well or recharge pits. Proper disinfection shall be made while storing the water for long use. (b) Recharging the open well/bore well.-- The rain water collected from the rooftops of both tiled/sloped roof and flat/RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) roofs using gutters or PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipes shall be diverted to the open well or bore well through a filter chamber of appropriate size. Regular disinfection methods are to be practised while harvesting rain water in open wells. (ii) Harvesting surface run-off water.-- Apart from the roof-top rain water harvesting, the rain water available in the open spaces around the buildings and in places/buildings where a sump or open well or bore well is not available the rain water shall be harvested and recharged into the ground using appropriate recharge structures based on the nature of the sub-soil conditions as mentioned below: (a) Sandy sub-soil areas.-- In places where the sub-soil formation is sandy in nature the rate of percolation of rain water will be more and therefore provision of shallow recharge structures such as percolation/recharge pits, recharge trenches or shallow recharge wells are considered to be suitable for rain water harvesting. (i) Percolation/recharge pits shall be provided around the buildings with minimum size of 1 metre x 1 metre x 1 metre and filled with permeable medium such as broken bricks or pebbles or coarse sand, etc. The number of these pits shall vary based on the extent of the area of water collection. On an average one unit is required for an area of 250 square feet. These structures are suitable for individual houses in general. (ii) Recharge trenches (longitudinal in shape) similar to the percolation/recharge pits are suitable for apartment/commercial complexes, where the availability of rain water is more. Two or three of these structures shall be provided on the basis of the extent of the building. (iii) Shallow recharge wells are similar to the common open wells except in size and depth. Normally, for an individual house with 1000 square feet area, a recharge well with 1.0 metre dia and 3.0 metre dia depth is required. For apartments/commercial complexes two or three recharge wells are required based on the extent of the building. Either brick wall or RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) concrete rings shall be used for construction. The top of the recharge well should be covered with RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) slab. Recharge wells are to be desilted once in a year or two for its effective recharge. Rain water collected from the roof tops of buildings and open surfaces shall be diverted to these recharge structures through PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipe line or by providing channels on the ground. These structures shall be maintained properly for effective recharge. (b) Clay sub-soil areas.-- In places where the sub-soil formation is clay in nature the rate of percolation of rain water will be very slow and therefore provision of percolation/recharge pit with bore, recharge trench with bore or deep recharge well are considered to be suitable for rain water harvesting. (i) Percolation/recharge pit with bore.-- It is similar to the one mentioned in sandy sub-soil formation except a bore hole at the bottom of the percolation pit which is also filled with the same permeable materials. A minimum size of 4 1/2 inch diameter and 15 feet depth is normally required for one pit. However, if sand formation is available below the top clay layer, the bore has to be drilled preferably up to the sand formation. The number of these pits shall vary based on the extent of the area of water collection. On an average one unit is required for an area of 250 square feet. These structures are suitable for individual houses in general. (ii) Recharge Trench with Bore.-- These are similar to the recharge pits but are longitudinal in shape and bore holes shall be provided at the bottom for every 10-15 feet of the trench. The trench and bore hole shall be filled with the same permeable materials such as broken bricks or pebbles or coarse sand, etc. These structures are suitable for apartments/commercial complexes where the availability of rain water is more, (iii) Deep/large recharge wells.-- These are similar to the common open wells except in size and depth and are considered to be suitable for apartment/commercial complexes. In general, a recharge well with 1.5 metre dia and 5.0 metre depth is required for a small apartment. Either brick wall or RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) concrete rings shall be used for construction. The top of the recharge well should be covered with RCC (Reinforced concrete cement) slab. The recharge well shall be de-silted once in a year or two for effective recharge. Rain water collected from the rooftops of the buildings and open surfaces shall be diverted to these recharge structures through PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) pipe line or by providing channels on the ground. These structures should be maintained properly for effective recharge, (c) Hard rock areas (Weathered).-- In hard rock areas also, the fate of percolation of rain water will be slow. Therefore, in order to collect and recharge the rain water it would be preferable to construct recharge wells of appropriate size. Percolation pit with deep bore holes up to a depth of 50-100 feet shall be provided. In this case, the bore hole is to be constructed with slotted pipe for effective recharge. In general, construction of separate recharge structures shall be provided in the absence of existing infrastructure such as storage tank/sump, open well or bore well in order to reduce the cost involved. The appellate authority shall be,-- (a) in respect of the orders made by the competent authorities in relation to the villages in the
6Chengalpattu district, the District Revenue Officer, Chengalpattu; and (b) in respect of the orders made by the Board, the Government. Every appeal under section 9 of the Act shall be made within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of the orders of the competent authority. The appeal shall be made in writing on plain paper and shall be affixed with a Court fee stamp for the value of rupees one only: Provided that the appellate authority may in its discretion allow further time not exceeding fifteen days, if it is satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal in time.
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