Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 189/14

REVISED GUIDELINES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BORE WELLS AND TUBE WELLS

Shillong, May 21, 2014: The Chief Engineer, PHE, has informed that the Supreme Court has issued modified/revised guidelines pertaining to measures for prevention of fatal accidents of small children due to falling in to abandoned bore-wells.

In its guidelines, the Supreme Court has directed the owner of the land/premises before taking any steps for constructing bore well/tube well to inform in writing at least 15 days in advance to the concerned authorities in the area about the construction of bore well/tube well. It is also mandatory to register the drilling agencies, namely, government/semi government/private etc with the district administration/statutory authority wherever applicable. Signboard should be displayed at the time of construction near the well with complete address of the drilling agency at the time of construction and address of the user agency/owner of the well. Proper fencing with barbed wire or any suitable barrier should be done around the well during construction and construction of cement concrete platform measuring 0.50 x 0.50 x 0.60 meter around the well casing.

Moreover, it is also mandatory to ensure capping of well assembly by welding steel plate or by providing a strong cap to be fixed to the casing pipe with bolts and nuts and in case of pump repair, the tube well should not be left uncovered. After completion of works, mud pits and channels should be filled and abandoned bore wells should be filled with clay, sand, boulders, pebbles, drill cuttings etc from bottom to ground level. On completion of the drilling operations at a particular location, the ground conditions are to be restored as before the start of drilling. The District Collector should be empowered to verify that the above guidelines are being followed and proper monitoring check about the status of bore holes, tube wells are being taken care through the concerned State/Central Government agencies.

The District Administration should maintained the District/Block/Village wise status of bore wells/tube wells drilled, i.e., number of wells in use, number of abandoned bore wells/tube wells found open, number of abandoned bore wells/tube wells properly filled up to ground level and balance, number of abandoned bore wells/tube wells to be filled up to ground level. In rural areas, the monitoring of the above is to be done through village sarpanch and the executive from the Agriculture Department. In case of urban areas, the monitoring of the above is to be done through Junior Engineer and the executive from the concerned Department of Ground Water/Public Health/Municipal Corporation, etc. If a bore well or tube well is abandoned at any stage, a certificate from the concerned department of Ground Water/Public Health/Municipal Corporation/private contractor etc must be obtained by the aforesaid agencies that the abandoned bore wells/tube wells is properly filled upto the ground level. Random inspection of the abandoned wells is also to be done by the executive of the concerned agency/department. Information on all such data on the above are to be maintained in the District Collector/Block Development Office of the State.