Following the tragic demise of a two-year-old who fell into an unused borewell on October 29th, efforts are underway to document and secure open wells and borewells. To this end, the Metro Water department has called for all Chennai residents to register their open wells and borewells with the authority by November 10th.
The exercise, which was announced on November 1st, is also a way for Metro Water to enumerate the number of functioning borewells in the city, for which up-to-date information is not available.
How to register your borewell and open well
If you are a resident of Chennai who owns a borewell or open well, the registration process with the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is necessary. While the requisite form is available online, the submission is required to be made in person. The process** to register your borewell or open well is as follows:
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Online submission
Offline submission
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The form does not mandate any enclosures at this stage, but additional information may be requested by the Metro Water department at a later stage.
Why now?
Speaking to Citizen Matters, an official at the Metro Water department said that the exercise is being undertaken after the death of two-year-old Sujith Wilson, who fell into an unused open borewell. He said that the measure was to primarily ensure that all open borewells that are unused are secured properly, or have the residents convert them into rainwater harvesting pits. The exercise will also serve to help the department update its database of borewell connections and get an idea of how much groundwater is being extracted for various purposes through borewells.
The first step in the process is self-declaration through Form X by the residents. The Metro Water department will then conduct inspections on the conditions of the borewells and open wells once the forms are collected.
What if you do not register on time?
At the time of inspection by officials, all the information furnished by the owner will be verified on the ground. Based on field visits, unused borewells may be ordered to be closed or re-purposed. Charges may also be levied on existing borewells and penalties on unregistered borewells discovered during inspection. The penalties will be levied based on the provisions in the Chennai Metropolitan Area Groundwater (Regulation) Act, 1987.
Yearly charges will be levied upon passing of inspection. There may be an exemption on yearly charges depending on the depth of the borewell, as per officials of the department.
Those who fail to register the borewell or comply with safety instructions will face penalties, and subsequent failure to pay penalty will result in order of closure of the borewell.
For any queries, residents can call: 044-28454080
[** The process for registration has been updated with the latest information available, as on November 12th]
Foolish decision by the government. Registering should be online. Do you imagine the length of the queue if every household goes to register their borewell
First of all there is no such incident reported in the Chennai city. secondly registering everything in such a short time frame is impractical! why the concerned authority is not thinking about this. thirdly the the information required is not going to be met with just registration.
Govt has invented another method to earn money.mostly this should be an exercise for villages only where deep borewells are dug up for agriculture in Chennai all borewells are well managed and closed.not necessary for metro water to interfere
The registration must be compulsory only if the diameter is large enough to cause accident
The borewell in Chennai are about 3 inches and this is not a threat to anybody
Hope metro water stops this harassment
Sir,
I am an 86 year old senior citizen living with my wife with out any help. As my computer knowledge is limited I am not able to down lead the form for registration. Can you send a form by email or can I get it in the nearest office located in the corner of R.K.Mutt Road/ Adyar satya studio junction in a park?
Kindly help. Regards and thanks. S>Ganesan
It is a total wastefull exercise.Simply harrasing public.As is said domestic borewells are too narrow for any kid to fall in. At the most they can ask owners to keep the well covered.
when approached with the filled in Form X, the metro water officials at Nolambur claim they have not received any notification towards registering the bore wells and are not accepting the forms.
Which metro water office accepts these forms for registering borewells in and around Nolambur?
Residents” comments above are enough to wake up Metro Water on the in adequacies of the Scheme of Regn. Please make the form details available on e mail and accept the details sent to you on email. I am 86 and I cannot physically go to your office and register the details. If you wish to do anything please make it simple and practical and do not harass the residents. They have no time nor the ability to comply with your draconic demands. Please now reply to me. Take the contents of this and similar messages to your highest authority and make them understand the implications of your ill thought out methods. Thanks.
What is the purpose of registration of a borewell in apartment complexes? It may be good to have the reason behind it. Also sufficient planning should be done before collection.
It’s not required for city like Chennai. Please do not harass people to submit this kind of information. This is required only in villages. If it is forced on city people, government will get negative image.