THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Did you think you could overcome water scarcity by digging a borewell in your premises? If you apply today, it would take at least a year for the ground water department to permit you to dig one. As the drought scare has picked up, the ground water department has been bombarded with over 1,000 applications to dig borewells in Thiruvananthapuram. Earlier this year, the government had banned digging of borewells in the state until May. Later, the ban was revoked following the High Court's intervention as people approached it pointing out that they had no alternate source of water.
Since January, at least 1,000 applications were received in Thiruvananthapuram. Officials have to conduct a geophysical survey and aquifer test before giving permit to each borewell. The ground water department have resources to verify only a maximum of 100 wells a month. “Now, we are not permitting borewells for industrial and agricultural purposes. Only wells for drinking purpose are allowed. After strict enforcement against illegal rigs by revenue officials, we are receiving more applications. We never had a backlog of over 300,” an official said. Revenue officials had recently made registration compulsory for borewell rigs, especially those from Tamil Nadu to operate locally. Checks were conducted at the checkpost and Parassala area.
