Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Karnataka minister bars borewell drilling without geological assessment
Imagine a city where water comes from deep underground wells called borewells.
In the Indian state of Karnataka, the underground water is running out and getting much harder to reach.
Some wells now have to be dug more than 1,000 feet deep, which is very expensive.
Even many of those very deep wells come up empty.
Sometimes the water they do find is not clean enough to drink.
So a government leader named Eshwar B Khandre made a new rule.
No one may dig a new well without first asking water experts for advice.
The government is also asking villages to help refill the underground water by recharging old wells.
And if a village runs out of drinking water, officials must fix it within one day.
Karnataka's Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar B Khandre directed officials not to drill new borewells without recommendations from groundwater experts.
Groundwater levels in several parts of Karnataka have fallen to depths of over 1,000 feet, making indiscriminate borewell drilling expensive and ineffective.
In districts like Tumakuru, Kolar and Chikkaballapur, borewells drilled beyond 1,000 feet often fail to yield water, and available water is sometimes unfit for drinking.
Officials reported that prolonged rainfall deficiency caused drinking water shortages in 766 Gram Panchayats during July, a figure that has since come down to 747.
The minister directed Gram Panchayats to undertake borewell recharge works under MGNREGS and ordered that any drinking water scarcity complaint be addressed within 24 hours.
Khandre instructed officials to prioritise surface water supply schemes wherever feasible and permit new borewell drilling only in unavoidable circumstances.
At present, 138 villages are being supplied drinking water through tankers.
- Who
- Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar B Khandre and state officials
- What
- A directive to stop indiscriminate borewell drilling without geological assessment and prioritise surface water schemes to address falling groundwater levels
- When
- Announced at a Jal Jeevan Mission review meeting on Thursday
- Where
- Bengaluru, Karnataka; affecting districts including Tumakuru, Kolar and Chikkaballapur
- Why
- Groundwater levels in several parts of Karnataka have fallen beyond 1,000 feet, and prolonged rainfall deficiency caused drinking water shortages in hundreds of Gram Panchayats
- Minister
- Eshwar B Khandre
- Department
- Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Karnataka
- Groundwater depth
- Over 1,000 feet in several parts of the state
- Affected districts
- Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur
- Gram Panchayats with shortages (July)
- 766, now reduced to 747
- Villages on tanker supply
- 138
- Recharge scheme
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)
- Complaint response time
- Within 24 hours