Berhampur, April 2: Groundwater levels in three districts of the state have depleted significantly in 2015 from the previous year, according to a recent survey report.

The survey, conducted by the state government's groundwater survey and investigation division in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts, have revealed that the level of groundwater has depleted from 3.48 metres in 2014 to 4.12 metres in 2015.

Geologist of the investigation division Durga Madhab Tripathi told The Telegraph: "Irregular rainfall and excess exploitation through borewells are the major factors that have contributed to the depletion of groundwater levels in the southern districts. Surface water, including lakes, ponds, rivers and streams contribute to groundwater recharge. But, these are not properly maintained."

He said the manner, in which most business establishments used the water for commercial purposes without paying much to the government or initiating steps to recharge the water levels, had also contributed to the depletion. If the trend persists, the results can be alarming for the state in the next few decades, he said.

Tripathi admitted that the government did not have a record of the number of commercial and domestic groundwater users.

"There has been no survey conducted on the total quantity of groundwater available in some areas and the gross annual withdrawal of total million cubic metres groundwater. We had launched a door-to-door survey to know the actual number of commercial users, number of active and dormant tube wells and amount of groundwater extracted per day during 2013-14. But, we were forced to abort it due to stiff opposition from businessmen," Tripathi alleged.

There should be at least a distance of 150 to 200 metres between borewells. However, the rule is not being followed anywhere, and excessive drilling of borewells has led to over exploitation of groundwater, he said.

The groundwater survey and investigation division has its offices in five cities - Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Balangir, Titilagarh and Jharsuguda. "The Berhampur division topped in installation of the Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting and Groundwater Recharge system to increase the groundwater level. The system has already been installed in 131 out of a targeted 200 buildings by March. The government provides subsidy of up to Rs 45,000 for the installation," he said.

Prabir Kumar Das, an architect, said the Tamil Nadu government had enacted the Groundwater (Development and Management) Act in 2003.

"The act provided for constitution of a groundwater authority consisting of officials and persons with special knowledge in groundwater exploration. The authority was to have powers to notify areas for development, control and regulation of groundwater," he said.

"The act mandated that every user in the notified areas must obtain a registration certificate from the authority. The act prohibited sinking of wells as well as transportation of groundwater without permission from the authority. Carrying on the business of sinking wells in notified areas without a licence, too, was to be prohibited. The authority was to monitor the groundwater mining and issue directions for suitable disposal of the mined water," Das said, urging the authorities to have such an act in the state.