Rajasthan Govt to bring new law for regulating ground water use

The Rajasthan government is contemplating move to enact new law for regulating exploitation of ground water and sought the Opposition parties' cooperation for getting the Bill passed. The announcement for bringing the Bill was made by Governor Shivraj Patil in his inaugural address in the House on the beginning of the Budget Session of the state Legislative Assembly today. The Governor said exploitation of ground water had been posed a serious concern as the water table in most parts of the state depleted very fast. Mr Patil said this situation was bound to impair development in the state and therefore, effective measures were needed to regulate the use of ground water.
He said the members from all parties should come forward to extend cooperation for enactment and due implementation of the new law. During his 86-minute address, Mr Patil elaborated on the state government's achievements and progress on its agenda of welfare-development focused transparent, responsible and accountable governance. The Governor also expressed satisfaction over general law and order situation and the government's move of delegation of powers to Panchayats in respect of five government departments. Barring mild interruption by CPM Group leader Amara Ram in the beginning and two BJP members -- Jaswant Yadav and Om Birla -- later, the Governor's speech was heard by the House in a peaceful and smooth manner.