west Bengal is all set to pass a bill to check illegal tapping of groundwater by residents of highrises in Kolkata. The West Bengal Water Resources Conservation, Protection and Development (Management, Control and Regulation) Bill, is to be implemented by the state government in association with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (cmc).

The bill has been proposed in the wake of surveys that revealed that the groundwater level in places like Park Street, Shakespeare Sarani, Kamdahari and Sonarpur has receded by almost three metres after indiscriminate installation of deep tubewells.

Although the capacity of cmc to supply water is inadequate, experts feel that drawing excess groundwater exposes people to the contamination factor. Water resources development minister Nandagopal Bhattacharjee has warned that unless something is done fast, the risk of arsenic contamination would increase.