HC asks Haryana to re-examine groundwater extraction fee policy for hospitals, banquet halls
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Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Haryana govt and the Haryana Water Resources Authority (HWRA) to re-evaluate its policy on groundwater extraction fees with regard to hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and banquet halls.
The HC wants state authorities to re-examine fee categorisation to ensure parity with industrial users. The court also restrained state authorities from taking any coercive action against the petitioners (health care service provider institutions and banquet halls) until the review process is completed.
Justice Kuldeep Tiwari has passed these orders while disposing of a batch of 27 petitions filed by M/s White Oak Motel and Restaurants and others challenging the state notification dated Sep 10, 2021, which excluded their establishments from being treated as "industries" under Schedule I for the purpose of groundwater-use classification.
Petitioners submitted that they are owners of banquet halls/marriage gardens/clinics/nursing homes etc., wherethrough, they are imparting services to the public at large. Moreover, the construction of the respective institutions/establishments is already complete, and now the petitioners only require water extraction for running their respective institutions/establishments.
The main dispute was about differential treatment of establishments categorised under "industry" versus "infrastructure" with regard to groundwater extraction fee policy outlined in Schedule IV.
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Industrial users drawing less than 10 cubic metres per day are exempt from paying any fee. However, such an exemption does not apply to infrastructure users, a classification that includes hospitals, clinics, and marriage banquets.
According to petitioners, this policy was discriminatory and irrational since many of their establishments provide essential public services, and their operations were being unfairly burdened when compared to industrial units.
During the hearing of the matter, the counsel representing HWRA submitted that the issue could be reconsidered, noting that the existing policy was based on central govt models and may be due for a review.
After hearing all parties, the court directed the state and HWRA to re-examine Schedule IV within two months and assess whether the fee categorisation applicable to industries can be extended to infrastructure users. In its recently released order, the judge, however, refrained from examining the legality of the 2021 notification on the grounds of arbitrariness or bias.
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