Emphasising the urgency of the situation, the National Green Tribunal stressed the need for both preventive and restorative measures. (Image generated using AI)

NGT news: Pointing out a “serious lapse” by states and Union territories in enforcing groundwater regulations, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stepped in to constitute a high-powered expert committee to tackle unchecked extraction and falling water tables.

A bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava , along with expert members Dr A Senthil Vel and Dr Afroz Ahmad , was hearing a suo motu case registered based on a 2023 news report which warned that parts of the Indo-Gangetic basin had already crossed groundwater depletion tipping points, with projections indicating critically low availability in north-west India by 2025.

(L-R) NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert members Dr A Senthil Vel and Dr Afroz Ahmad directed the panel to submit its report in three months.

The NGT directed the formation of a multi-disciplinary…