The Himachal Pradesh government has issued a stern warning to industries and commercial establishments: register your borewells and tubewells by June 30 or face closure. The Jal Shakti Department has made it mandatory for all users of groundwater to upload their borewell details on designated portals, failing which their water sources will be declared illegal and sealed.
This move comes under the State Ground Water (Regulation and Development and Management Control) Amendment Act, 2022. Officials said this is the final opportunity for industries to comply and regularise their water extraction activities. The required data must be submitted online through the portals www.emerginghimachal.hp.gov.in and jsv.hp.nic.in by June 30 using Form-4A under Section 8 of the Act. After the deadline, these portals will become inactive, and late applications will be summarily rejected.
“If industries fail to register, their borewells and tubewells will be treated as illegal. Strict action will follow, including sealing of the installations,” a Jal Shakti Department official stated.
The department currently has no reliable data on the number of borewells operating across the state. Though permission was earlier required, installations were often carried out without further reporting. As a result, industries and commercial units have been extracting thousands of litres of groundwater daily without contributing royalties or facing regulation, which has significantly impacted groundwater levels—especially during the summer months.
The government’s move is aimed at addressing the unchecked depletion of groundwater and improving oversight of its commercial use. Officials added that the registration drive would help identify unauthorised borewells and bring them under regulatory monitoring.
“This is about sustainable water management. Groundwater is a public resource, and we cannot allow it to be misused for profit without oversight,” the official added.
The department has clarified that this is the final chance being offered to industries and commercial users. Post-deadline, enforcement teams will begin inspections, and any unregistered borewell or tubewell will be considered illegal and shut down.
