Govt asks Gzb DM to install digital metres for borewells in 10 days

Ghaziabad: The director of the UP groundwater department has asked the district magistrate to install digital metres on five-horsepower borewells within 10 days and submit a report on the matter.
This order was issued after two environmentalists filed an RTI with the GMC a few weeks ago alleging that from 2016 to 2024, around 213 borewells of 5 horsepower each were installed in 100 wards without any digital metres or operators, leading to the wastage of groundwater and public resources.
One of the complainants, Pradeep Dahlia, said, “Several borewells installed by the municipal corporation do not have monitoring of groundwater usage, both in terms of operators and digital flow metre installation. Four out of five blocks of the district are deficient in groundwater or over-exploited.”
In their written complaint, which is addressed to statutory bodies and the district administration, the complainants have demanded that the GMC operate these borewells with proper environmental safeguards. An official from the water department said that they have installed these borewells for the public and are yet to receive any such orders on this matter.