Chapter I Preliminary

(1) This Act may be called the Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation for Protection of Sources of Drinking Water) Act, 1999.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Karnataka.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification appoint and different dates may be appointed for different local areas or different provisions of this Act.

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires.- (1) “appropriate authority” means the Deputy Commissioner and includes any officer, not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner as the Government may by notification appoint for the purposes of this Act, and different officers may be appointed for different local areas of the State.

(2) “drinking water purpose” means consumption or use of water by human population for drinking and for other domestic purposes; and includes consumption of water for similar such relevant purposes for live stock.

Explanation.- For the purpose of this clause, the expression ‘ domestic purposes” shall include consumption or use of water for cooking ,bathing, washing, cleansing and other day-to-day activities.

(3) “Government“ means the State Government.

(4) “Ground water” means water existing in an aquifer below the surface of the ground at any particular location regardless of the geological structure in which it is stationary or moving and includes all ground water reservoirs. (5) “Local Authority” means and includes a Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Grama Panchayat, Town Panchayat, Industrial Township, Improvement Board, Urban Development Authority and Planning Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board constituted under any law for the time being in force;

(6) “Over exploited Water Shed” means a water shed where the estimated annual ground water extraction is more than eighty five percent of the estimated average annual ground water recharge, calculated in the prescribed manner, and declared as such under section 6;

(7) “Public source of drinking water “ means a well from which the Government or a local authority or such authority as the Government may, by notification specify, provides water to the public and includes such point or any other drinking water sources as may be notified by appropriate Authority ;

(8) “public water supply systems’ means the structures relating to a public drinking water source, including conveying pipelines, storage reservoir, stand posts, hand pump, power pump and all other materials connected thereto, through which water is supplied for drinking water purpose:

(9) “requisite quantity of water” means the quantity of water calculated on the basis of per capita supply to be fixed by the Government from time to time;

(10) “Sink” with all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, in relation to a well, includes any drilling, boring or digging of a new well or deepening carried out to an existing well;

(11) “Technical officer” means an officer of the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka not below the rank of a Geologist;

(12) “Water scarcity area” means an area declared as such under section 4;

(13) “Watershed” means an area confined within the topographic water divide line as identified and notified by the Ground water Survey, Division of the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka from time to time having regard to the purposes of this Act;

(14) "Well" means a well sunk for the search or extraction of ground water by a person or persons except by the authorised officials of the State or Central Governments for carrying out scientific investigations, exploration, development, augmentation, conservation, protection, or management works and shall include open well, dug well, borewell, dug-cum-borewell, tubewell, filter points, collector well and infiltration gallery or any of their combinations or variations;