Powers of Government to issue directions and powers to notify areas for control and regulation of ground water development

(1) The Government may from time to time, issue to the Ground Water Authority such directions as it may think necessary in the public interest. (2) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions, the Ground Water Authority shall, in exercise of its powers or the performance of its functions, be bound by such directions on questions of policy as the Government may give in writing to it from time to time; Provided that the Ground Water Authority shall, as far as practicable, be given an opportunity to express its views before any direction is given under this sub-section. (3) The decision of the Government whether a question is one of policy or not shall be final. (4) If the Ground Water Authority is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient in the public interest to control and/or regulate the extraction or the use or both of ground water in any form in any area, it will advise the Government to declare any such area to be a notified area for the purposes of this Act with effect from such date as may be specified therein. This declaration will be notified in the official gazette: Provided that the date so specified in the notification shall not be earlier than three months from the date of publication of the said notification. (5) Every such notification shall, in addition to its publication in the official gazette, be published in not less than one daily regional language newspaper having wide circulation in the respective regions of the Union Territory of Puducherry and shall also be served in such manner as the Government may think fit and all or any of the following modes may be followed in effecting such service, namely:- (a) by affixing a copy of the notification to some conspicuous part of the offices of the village panchayats located in the said area; or (b) by proclaiming by beat of drum or by means of loudspeakers, the contents of the notification in the said area; or (c) in such other manner as may be prescribed. (6) If in the opinion of the Authority, the availability of the ground water has improved in a notified area based on satellite imageries or any report of the remote sensing applications in the country under the umbrella of National Natural Resources Management System or any other report published by the Government of India or other State Government or Union Territory, the Authority may advise the Government to identify such area and the Government may do so according to the procedure prescribed in this section for notifying the area.