CGWA Notice for Groundwater Extraction: How to Respond

Reply in writing, inside the time the notice gives, and answer each allegation with documents. First work out what kind of notice it is: extraction without a NOC, breach of NOC conditions such as meters or recharge, an expired NOC, a compensation demand, or a direction to stop and seal. Then decide which facts you contest and which gaps you are already fixing. Ask for a personal hearing. If a final direction to seal or pay is passed, an appeal lies to the National Green Tribunal within 30 days of the order reaching you.

This guide is for factories, hotels, hospitals, builders, housing societies, schools and other bulk users who have received a notice from the Central Ground Water Authority, a state groundwater authority or the district administration about their borewells. It covers reading the notice, drafting the reply, the hearing, sealing and the appeal. For the bigger picture on groundwater extraction disputes, see our main page.

If you are not yet sure whether you needed a NOC at all, start with our short explainer on groundwater NOC exemptions, then come back here.

The essentials

I have received a CGWA notice about my borewell. What should I do first?

Do three things on the first day. Write down the date the notice reached you, because every later time limit runs from it. Read the notice for what it actually alleges, not what you fear it alleges. And collect every groundwater document your unit has: the NOC or application, meter readings, water bills, recharge structure records and any compliance report you filed.

Most notices are show-cause notices. They tell you what the authority believes is wrong and give you a chance to explain before it decides. A good reply at this stage often ends the matter or reduces it to a compliance timeline. A missed deadline, on the other hand, usually leads to an order passed on the authority's version alone, and that is much harder to undo.

What kind of groundwater notice have you received?

Groundwater notices fall into a handful of types. The reply depends on which one you are holding, and some notices combine two or three.

A notice from the State Pollution Control Board can also raise groundwater, because consent orders often make a valid groundwater NOC a condition. That notice is answered to the board, but the underlying fix is still the groundwater permission.

Is the CGWA even the right authority for my unit?

Check this before anything else. The CGWA regulates groundwater extraction across most of India, but several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, regulate it under their own laws and authorities. If your unit sits in such a state, the permission and the enforcement normally come from the state body. A notice from the wrong authority is not something to ignore, but it changes what you write and where you apply.

Next, check whether you needed permission at all. Individual domestic users and agricultural users are exempt under the CGWA guidelines, and some small users are exempt too, subject to conditions. Industries, hotels, hospitals, group housing societies, malls, infrastructure projects, mining units and packaged water units generally need a NOC. If you believe you fall within an exemption, the reply must say which one and why, with figures for your daily use.

Finally, look at the period and the location. The category of your assessment unit (safe, semi-critical, critical or over-exploited) affects what conditions apply and how compensation is worked out. Units are reclassified from time to time. A notice that applies today's category to a period when your block was classified differently is open to challenge.

How to draft and file your reply to a CGWA notice

This is the order that works in practice. Do not skip the first two steps to save time; most weak replies fail because they answer the wrong question.

Sign the reply by someone who can actually answer for the facts, usually the occupier, a director or a partner, and keep it consistent with whatever you have told the pollution board in consent applications. Inconsistent figures for water use across two authorities are among the first things an officer notices.

What should I write if we really were extracting without a NOC?

Be honest and practical. Denying something that the inspection photographed only damages your credibility. Accept the gap, explain how it happened in two or three sentences (for example, the borewell came with the premises, or a consultant told you the unit was exempt), and show what you have done since: extraction stopped or reduced, an application filed, meters ordered, recharge work started.

Then address the period. Compensation is usually worked out on the number of days and the volume extracted, so it matters when the violation really began and ended. If you bought the premises recently, if the bore was defunct for months, or if you switched to municipal supply at some point, say so and attach proof. A shorter, documented period means a smaller figure.

What if we hold a NOC but missed some of its conditions?

This is the most common notice we see from units that think they are compliant. A NOC typically comes with conditions: tamper-proof digital water meters, often with telemetry, piezometers to monitor water levels, rainwater harvesting or recharge structures, water quality testing, and periodic compliance reports. Missing one of these is a breach even if your extraction stayed within the permitted quantity.

Answer condition by condition. For each, say whether it was met, when, and attach the proof: the meter invoice and installation photo, the telemetry login screenshot, the recharge pit photos with dates, the lab reports, the acknowledgement of each compliance report. Where the condition was met late, give the date it was completed. Where it is still pending, give the reason and a firm completion date.

If your extraction stayed within the NOC limit throughout, say so clearly and back it with meter data. That is the single most useful point in your favour, because it shows the breach was procedural and caused no extra drawdown. The authority still expects compliance, but the tone of the decision usually changes.

Documents to attach to a groundwater notice reply

Common replies to a CGWA notice and how strong they are

What happens at the personal hearing?

Hearings before the groundwater authority or the district officer are short and informal. The officer has your reply and the inspection report and will usually ask a few direct questions: how much you extract, why a condition was missed, when it will be fixed. Send someone who knows the plant, not only a consultant or a lawyer. A works manager who can explain the meter and the recharge pits is often more persuasive than a legal argument.

Bring originals, and hand over any document that has come in since the reply. After the hearing, send a brief letter summarising what was said and anything you agreed to do, so there is a record if the final order differs.

When Advocate B.K. Singh prepares a unit for a groundwater hearing, the first thing he settles is the water balance: how much comes from the bore, from municipal supply and from recycled water, and where it goes. If those numbers are clear and consistent with the consent application, most of the hearing takes care of itself.

Our borewell has been sealed. How do we get it de-sealed?

First, do not touch the seal. Breaking a seal or drilling a fresh bore after sealing is treated very seriously, and it destroys any chance of a quick revocation. Arrange temporary water from a lawful source, such as municipal supply or an authorised tanker supplier, and keep the invoices.

Then apply in writing for revocation of the sealing. The application should show that the reason for sealing has been dealt with: a NOC granted or applied for, meters and telemetry installed, recharge structures built, reports filed, any compensation demanded paid or deposited under protest. Authorities commonly revoke sealing on conditions, sometimes with an undertaking or a bank guarantee. Ask for an inspection to verify compliance, and follow up.

If the sealing order itself was wrong, for example because the unit was exempt or no hearing was given, revocation is not the only route. A direction under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act can be challenged before the NGT within 30 days. Many units do both: apply for revocation while preserving the appeal, so that a slow response does not leave them out of time.

Legal provisions behind a groundwater notice

When should we appeal, and where?

Appeal when the final order is wrong on facts or law and the reply and hearing have not fixed it: you were exempt, the period or volume is plainly wrong, no hearing was given, or the authority had no jurisdiction. Do not appeal simply to buy time while doing nothing on the ground. The NGT expects to see compliance, and an appellant who is still extracting without permission gets little sympathy.

For a direction under section 5 of the EP Act, the appeal is to the NGT under section 16, within 30 days of communication. For an order under a state groundwater law, check that Act first. A writ petition to the High Court is possible where there is a pure question of jurisdiction or a breach of natural justice, but High Courts usually send matters that fall within the NGT Act to the tribunal. Our page on appeals against environmental orders explains the appeal process in more detail.

If the order includes environmental compensation, read our guide on compensation for illegal groundwater use, which covers how the figure is built and which parts are most often wrong.

Before you send the reply

Mistakes that make a groundwater notice worse

The worst mistake is silence. Units assume a notice from a central authority will go nowhere, and then find a sealing team at the gate. The second is replying with a generic letter drafted for a pollution board notice, which does not address meters, recharge or extraction volumes at all. The third is overclaiming: saying a meter was installed when it was only ordered, or that reports were filed when they were not. One false statement taints the rest of the reply.

Another frequent problem is dealing with the groundwater notice in isolation. The same gap often shows up in a pollution board inspection, a consent renewal or a buyer's due diligence. Fix the underlying permission properly. For businesses with wider consent or closure issues, see our pages on replying to pollution control board notices and obtaining a groundwater NOC.

Where to go from here

If your unit is in a water-stressed block, read groundwater extraction rules in over-exploited areas before planning any expansion. If the notice came after neighbours complained about tankers or falling water levels, our guide on the water tanker mafia and illegal borewells shows the complaint from the other side, which helps you anticipate what the authority will look for.