The Haryana Cabinet  on Friday accorded  approval for draft of Haryana Water  Resources Conservation, Management  and  Regulation Authority Bill, 2020  for Conservation, management and regulation of water resources in  Haryana.  A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the State Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar here.

Until now, the groundwater was being regulated under the guidelines issued by the Central Ground Water Authority, however entry 17 in the list II of Schedule VII of the Constitution of India inter alia provides that water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power are the state subjects, hence this Bill has been prepared.

The Bill has been prepared with the aim to establish an Authority for conservation, management and  regulation of the water resources in the State including surface water, ground water and treated waste water of Haryana which shall exercise its jurisdiction over the  entire State.

The uncontrolled and rapid usage of water, in absence of any effective law in the State has resulted in an alarming situation of declining groundwater levels along with depletion of surface water in several areas.

In order to deal with the situation of serious water crisis and over exploitation of water in the offing, it is an impending necessity to enact an appropriate law to provide for protecting, conserving, controlling and regularizing the usage of water in the State so that the water regimen becomes sustainable both quantitatively and qualitatively, especially in stressed areas.

The Authority would also have the powers of the Civil Court and non-compliance of the orders or directions of the Authority shall be punishable under Section 22.

The Bill also provides for the penalty for the unauthorized acts under Section 25 along with the compounding of the unauthorized acts under Section 26.

WORKING CAPITAL FOR DHBVNL

Haryana Cabinet accorded ex-post facto approval for providing State Government guarantee of Rs. 700 crore in favour of Commercial Banks for working capital facilities sanctioned to Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. (DHBVNL). 

The Nigam manages its day-to-day operations by using fund based and non fund based working capital limits sanctioned by various banks. Due to increase in the power purchase payments and enhanced requirement of Letters of Credit (LC) in favour of power suppliers as per Ministry of Power guidelines, DHBVN's existing working capital arrangements were not sufficient to meet with the increased power supply obligations.

CREATION OF DIRECTORATE OF MSME

The Cabinet approved the creation of new Directorate of MSME for development  and promotion of MSME in Haryana and further approved  the work distribution in the Industries and Commerce Department amongst Directorate of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Directorate of Industries and Commerce and Directorate of Supplies and Disposals. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is acknowledged as an engine for growth across the country. Haryana has taken various steps for the development of the overall MSME ecosystem in the State in the past few years.

HARYANA CONTROL OF ORGANIZED CRIME BILL

The Cabinet also approved to introduce ‘The Haryana Control of Organized Crime Bill, 2020’  due to emerging situation of organized crime in the State which ensures effective legal action against the gangsters, leaders and members of organized criminal gangs. Special provisions also need to be enacted for forfeiture of the property acquired from proceeds of crimes and to create a provision for special courts and special prosecutors for handling the trials of offences under this Act.