Arun Jaitley Stadium among 20 grounds extracting groundwater without NOC
An inspection of 26 stadiums across the country found 24 had borewells or tubewells installed, but only four such stadiums had a valid NOC
The ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it has served show cause notices to 20 stadiums across the country, including the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, for using borewells or tubewells for ground maintenance, without having a valid no-objection certificate (NOC) for it.
An inspection of 26 stadiums across the country found 24 had borewells or tubewells installed, but only four such stadiums had a valid NOC. The remaining have been served notices and given three-months’ time to submit an action taken report, the ministry told NGT through a report.
“It was found that 24 out of the 26 stadiums inspected have borewells/tubewells for extraction of groundwater, out of which only four stadiums had groundwater NOC. Subsequently, show cause notices have been sent to the 20 stadiums on June 27, 2023, directing them to explain them the reason as to why NOC was not sought from the concerned department...,” said the report, dated August 4.
As per the report, the four stadiums that were found compliant with the norms included the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, the VCA stadium in Nagpur, the JSCA International stadium in Ranchi and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which owns and operates the Arun Jaitley Stadium, said that the association has begun the process of compliance with the norms.
“We were served the notice a month ago. The process of compliance with the norms started 20-25 days ago. We will have everything in place before the ODI World Cup starts in October,” DDCA joint secretary Rajan Manchanda said.
(With inputs from Vivek Krishnan)
