24 Indian Cricket Stadiums Extracting Groundwater Without NOC: Report

24 cricket stadiums across the country including the likes of Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, are extracting groundwater with No-Objection Certificate from the concerned authorities.

The shocking revelation has come to light in a report submitted by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

In an applicant submitted before the NGT, complaint has raised the issue of use of groundwater for the maintenance of cricket grounds without alternatives, such as using treated water from sewage treatment plants (STPs) and installation of water harvesting systems.

The application has highlighted that how IPL matches are being organised ‘for commercial and entertainment purposes’ without concern for water conservation, leading to people suffering potable water issues.  

In March this year, the NGT directed the Ministry of Jal Shakti to file a status report on the matter.

As reported by The Indian Express, inspection was carried out at 26 stadiums across the country by representatives of the Central Groundwater Board and it concluded that 24 out of the 26 stadiums have borewell or tube wells for the extraction of groundwater, but only four have a NOC for extraction.

Show cause notice to stadiums for not having NOC

Notably, show cause notices have been sent to these 20 stadiums by the Central Groundwater Authority in June this year seeking reasons behind No NOC.

M Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru), VCA Stadium (Jamtha, Nagpur), Narendra Modi stadium (Ahmedabad) and JSCA International Stadium Complex (Ranchi) have proper rainwater harvesting systems, sewage treatment plants and are not using groundwater or have a NOC for groundwater extraction.

Meanwhile, twelve of these stadiums were found to be partially complaint, while nine stadiums had no NOC, no rainwater harvesting system and no sewage treatment plant.

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In July, the Ministry of Jal Shakti had directed all cricket stadiums associations or owners of stadiums to install rainwater harvesting systems within three months and engage with consultants to ensure the use of treated water for maintenance of cricket grounds.

The stadiums have also been asked to approach groundwater authorities to obtain NOCs for groundwater extraction.

With inputs from The Indian Express

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